April is the Cruelest Month
by sparky24
Summary: Buffy has died again. How will her death affect her family and friends.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, and Harry Potter to J.K. Rowling. I don't own anything.

April is the Cruelest Month

He was supposed to be her brave little lion. But he didn't feel very brave today. He was only fifteen. She should not be dead. It just wasn't fair. Not to him, not to his sisters and especially not to his father. When he was younger, he thought she would never die. After all, everybody told him she had died twice. Maybe he could find the spell his Aunt Willow used and bring her back again. When they were alone again maybe he would ask her. As it was, his Aunt Dawn was holding him tight, crying harder than he was. She couldn't or wouldn't stop. Peeking out from her shoulder, Robbie looked around for sisters and father. Locating them, he found them worse for the wear. Sarah was with Father along with Abby. They were trying to hold him together, without much success. The twins, Emily and Eleanor, looked really lost. Both were huddled next to Grandma N'issa.

He hitched his breath to stop from crying, succeeding only for a minute. Looking outside the church, he noticed that the weather wasn't cooperating with his mood. It was a warm and sunny April day when he needed it to be cold, wet and rainy. He was reminded of the poem Grandpa Giles had given him to read. "April is the cruelest month" he wrote and now he, Robert understood, at least about the pain. It hurt so much, her dieing. So he asks again, why did she have to die? Stupid airplane, if only his mum had been a bit more accepting of magic, she would still be alive right now. A simple portkey, Father offered, but she refused.

Robert had such different dreams at the beginning of the school year. It seemed so long ago, the noisy platform, steam pouring out of the locomotive, searching the area for his two red-haired friends, trying to ignore his mother's lecture.

"Robbie, you need to watch out for your little sister. Everything is new for her."

Well that wasn't quite true but who was he to argue with her. So he rolled his eyes and said "Mum, please. You know how annoying she is." This brought him an angry glare from Abby and a light tap from his mum.

"She's your sister and you will look after her." She repeated. When she put it in that tone of voice, you didn't argue, you just nod your head in agreement and hope she didn't break anything. Not that she would ever do anything to one of them, but still he was rather glad he was not a vampire.

"Yes mum." Robbie replied meekly, submitting to her will. She smiled and rose on tiptoe to kiss him goodbye, since he had grown over the summer and was now taller than she was. He started to squirm a bit as he now saw the two red-headed forms of his friends, Art and Ron. She whispered in his ear as she hugged him.

"No matter how tall you get, you'll always be my little lion"

His face reddened, but secretly he was glad. He had always liked her nickname for him.

"Robbie." A voice called to him, a female voice. It called again.

"Robbie."

He looked up, it was Mrs. Weasley, Art and Ron's mum. He could never get in the habit of calling her Aunt Hermione, even though she seemed to support his bookish habits. Maybe it was because she was Daddy's friend, rather than Mum's. But she seemed rather stern and put-offish, at least compared to Aunt Willow. Aunt Willow was a vibrant woman, always smiling and bubbly. But there was also an air of danger about her, a certain wildness that touched to the root of her magic.

"Robbie." The voice was stronger now. He looked up through his tears, his Aunt Dawn gone and he was sitting now alone in the church. Not alone, this woman, Mrs. Weasley, Aunt Hermione, if you will, was there with him.

"Aunt Hermione?" He asked scratchily.

She smiled at him. "Your father and your sisters are waiting for you. It's time to go back to the house."

He nodded a bit dumbly. The house. He remembered when he was younger, getting chased by Sarah through the various rooms, sneaking around with Abby to try to spy on Mum's training. All of Her stuff was still there. He looked up at this woman, who was and was not his Aunt. "What do you think they'll do with all of her slayer stuff?"

It was then that this strange curly haired woman, mother to his two best friends, his father's best friend, his aunt/not aunt broke down.

"Oh, Robbie," She sobbed "it is all my fault. I should have set up a portkey for your mother. Really, it would have been so easy."

Robbie looked again at this woman, who uncannily thought the same thing that he did. He shook his head, feeling a bit uncomfortable, stood and put his arms around her.

"No, you mustn't think that. Mum wouldn't have taken it anyway. She hated magical transport of any kind."

It was rather awkward holding this woman. It was sending off signals in his body that he really didn't want to think about right now. She disengaged from him, much to Robbie's relief. "Come along, Robbie. Arthur and Ronald are waiting in the car for you."

He nodded and followed, his mind though drifted back to September.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 September Again

They boarded the train together after their mother helped to put their trunks on board. Having a mother that was a Slayer was helpful at times like these. She gave them each one last kiss and a hug and warning to behave their selves on the train

Robbie looked down on his little sister and sighed. "Come on, Pipsqueak. I'll help you get you situated on the train."

She gave him a rather hard punch in the arm. "Don't call me that!"

Robbie smirked "Sure thing Pipsqueak." This earned him another punch in the arm Robbie found an empty compartment for Abby. He turned to her and asked

"This ok for you Abby?"

She looked up at him nervously "You aren't going to leave me are you?

Robbie shook his head. "No Abby. I'll be in the compartment next door with Ron and Art." She gave him a relieved smile. To tell the truth, he was a bit worried about Abby himself. Of all of them, she looked the most like Father- Black hair, glasses and a scrawny little figure. Unlike Sarah and him, though, she seemed the least magically inclined. More like mum. It was funny though, that they all had the same wand core, a piece of their mum's hair. Yes, Abby seemed most likely to become a Slayer. He sighed again and hoped that would not happen.

He gave his sister a quick kiss on the cheek, squeezed her hand and reminded her again that he was right next door. He also made sure that she had enough money to get something off the cart. She let go of his hand and entered her compartment leaving Robbie alone for the moment.

He went next door, opened the cabin and slipped inside while the twins were arguing over Quidditch teams. Seated across from the twins were three girls, Nicole LeStran, Anastasia Wilson and Natalie McKinnon. The three girls were doing their best to ignore the twins, who were being prats as usual. They looked up from their conversation and greeted Robbie warmly. The twins, still oblivious to their friend, continued to argue between themselves.

Robbie grinned and looked at the girls. "Do you think I should separate them? Then again, if I leave them alone, I get the three prettiest girls in Hogwarts all to myself."

The three girls giggled and blushed.

Natalie spoke up and said "As wonderful as that prospect sounds, I don't think we could last the whole trip listening to their Quidditch argument."

Robbie nodded and drew a breath "You know guys, the Cannons really don't have a decent enough seeker to get out of the second tier and Puddlemore hasn't got one either while the Tornadoes still have Cho Chang, who may be old, but is still tons better than anyone on either of those teams. So unless my sister decides to skip Uni and join the Cannons or United, you two are just wasting your breath."

Art stopped mid-sentence, looked up and a big grin spread across his face. "Robbie, mate! Where have you been? And do you really think your sister will drop Uni for the Cannons?"

Robbie laughed "Not a chance of that, mate. Mum would kill her. Anyways, I had to settle the Pipsqueak in next door before I could come over here."

The three girls sat there, stunned. Another element to their conversations just appeared out of nowhere. Anastasia was the first to speak, "Pipsqueak? Robbie what in the world are you talking about?"

Robbie shrugged. "My little sister, Abby is starting Hogwarts this year. My Mum wants me to look after her, make sure she gets to the castle ok, things like that."

"You left her alone?" Anastasia responded in horror. "Why didn't you bring her in here?"

Robbie gave her a hard look. "Here? In this cabin, so you lot can braid her hair and mother her?" Robbie shook his head. "Not a chance. The last thing I need is my little sister in here with me. How's she supposed to meet new people if she's cooped up in here? Besides, she's not one for excessive mothering and hair braiding. Too much like mum." He turned to the twins. "Tell'em."

Art and Ron nodded. "He's right you know" Ron said "She's a little demon. Takes a bit after her mum, alright, even though she looks a lot like Professor Potter."

"Yep, she's got this powerful pout, one look and you're mush. Besides, she hates Quidditch." Art added.

Nicole snorted "And what, dear boy, is wrong with that?"

Five faces stared at her. "Nic, you can't be serious" Robbie exclaimed. She rose to leave.

"Nic, stay, please?" Robbie asked, placing a hand on her arm. She nodded and sat back down among her friends.

The six of them settled down in the cabin again, catching up on their summer activities. Robbie groaned "This year is going to be awful. Not only do we have OWLs, but now the new Potions Master is my Uncle, since Professor Snape decided to take up the position of Headmaster." Anastasia and Nicole laughed at him.

"Your whole family will be teaching at Hogwarts. What's so bad about that? I mean Professor Malfoy has never given us any problems last year when he was training with Professor Snape." Anastasia said.

"That's because you two are in Slytherin." Natalie pointed out. "And even though he is kind of cute, he's perfectly dreadful to us Gryffs, especially Robbie."

"Poor ickle Robbie, picked on by the mean old Potions professor" teased Anastasia.

Robbie blushed and groaned. "Easy for you lot to say, you don't have to see him at holiday."

"You could always prank him." Art suggested.

Robbie mused on that a bit and smiled. "I suppose I could. Your Uncles Fred and George could probably help me out there. Apparently they weren't big fans of Uncle Draco when he was in school."

They all laughed and Robbie felt a bit better. It was hard enough trying to live up to Father's standards in his classes, as well as his sister Sarah's too. He rose from his seat. "I had better check on Abby. I'll be back in a few."

Nicole rose to go with him. Robbie raised an eyebrow. He didn't expect this. "Would you like me to come with you?" She asked a bit shyly.

Robbie smiled and shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. I've got it covered. It's just next door. Besides I'll be right back." He rose quickly, hoping that Abby was alright and he could return to the company of his friends.

He listened outside the door of the compartment and heard an argument that seemed to be in progress.

"What do you mean you don't like Quidditch? It's the greatest sport in the entire world!" a boy was saying.

"Bah, nothing but a bunch of people flying around on broomsticks. I like Cricket better." He heard his sister reply.

"You're absolutely nutters! How can you like a bunch of insects better than Quidditch?"

He heard his sister snort. "Hah. Fat lot you know. Cricket's a Muggle sport, like football, except instead of goalies its got batsmen. Anyways, you wouldn't understand." She had dismissed the boy. Robbie figured now would be a good time to intervene before his sister decided to bop the poor unsuspecting boy in the nose.

"Hello Abby. How are you settling in?" he asked.

His sister gave him an irritated glare. "Oh hello Robbie." She replied coolly. "I'm just trying to explain to this thick-headed wizard that the world doesn't revolve around Quidditch. Although knowing you …"

He stopped her right there by looking at the little boy who was brave (foolish) enough to argue with his sister. "She's right you know. Quidditch isn't the be all to end all but it's loads of fun."

Abby snorted "Fun? How many times did Sarah end up in the infirmary because of some wayward bludger?"

Robbie shrugged "She always seemed to bounce back enough times to catch the snitch to beat us when she played against Gryffindor." Then after a beat, "Is that what put you off Quidditch?"

She nodded. "That and Mum saying flying is meant for birds."

Robbie laughed. It was true that flying on broomsticks always made his mother extremely nervous. She would show up for the games but would hide her eyes whenever Sarah did a really dangerous bit of flying.

"Who's your friends?" he asked his sister.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Dear Abby, Dear Abby

Abigail was glad Robbie asked that question. She could never remember anyone's name except for the girl next to her- Alison or Al as she liked to call herself. Al told her that her real name wasn't really Alison either but Allisonious Belatine Cloister, but because that was such a ridiculous name, she just told everyone her name was Alison or Al for short. Abby laughed at the girl's long winded explanation.

"My name is nothing that atrocious. It is Abigail Marie Potter or Abby for short." She extended her hand in friendship to the other girl.

Al looked her over and exclaimed "Omigod! You're Harry Potter's daughter!"

Abby put up her hand "Stop. Either you're my friend for me or not. Don't try to be my friend for my father's sake, be my friend for me."

Al gave her a funny look and shrugged "I was just going to say that it must be cool having a famous dad. I mean, my parents are sooo boring."

Abby, a bit confused and humbled, looked down and said "Oh."

But soon they started a conversation about families, friends and schooling, although Al did most of the talking. Al was a bit taller than she was and bit pudgier with mousy brown hair and large brown eyes. Al was very talkative, having an opinion on everything, so that Abby was glad when the other children, 2 girls and 3 boys, started to fill in the cabin. She took the time to stare out the window, watching the scenery change. She was shaken out of her thoughts when the conversation started to turn towards Quidditch.

"I don't like Quidditch." She stated firmly.

The boy, Jeremy she thought, responded loudly "What do you mean you don't like Quidditch? It's the best sport in the world!"

"Hardly" She shouted back. "Bunch of people flying around on broomsticks. I like Cricket better." That wasn't really true, but she felt the need to put this boy in his place.

Jeremy looked at with scorn "You're absolutely nutters." The rest of the cabin watched them square of f with fascination. "How can you like a bunch of insects better than Quidditch?"

She snorted, while Al was trying to contain her giggle. "Shows how much you know. Cricket is a muggle sport like football except with batsmen instead of goalies." She wasn't going to explain it to him, especially since it looked like he wanted a fight. "Anyways, you wouldn't understand." She dismissed him and turned her face away from him and towards the window again. But her fist was ready. She could see out of the corner of her eye that he was getting ready to come over and get in her face. Just then, the cabin door opened. It was Robbie. She breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was going to be alright now. Robbie would settle it out and she wouldn't have to punch Jeremy's lights out. Her father always warned her not to start any fights, especially before school even started.

After Robbie left, she braced herself and counted, one, two, three – "Omigod Abby, was that your brother? He is sooo cute!" Three seconds, she sighed, shook her head and turned to the girls in the cabin. "He's also taken. His girlfriend Nicole is in the next cabin waiting for him." She then turned to Jeremy and extended her hand "Sorry Jeremy. Guess we got off on the wrong foot. My name's Abigail Potter. And my brother and his friends make up half the Gryffindor Quidditch team. My sister Sarah, who is at Uni this year, was the youngest female seeker to ever play Quidditch. And of course, my Dad was the seeker when he went to Hogwarts."

Jeremy looked impressed. Abby saw his expression and almost laughed. He seemed to be more impressed by the fact that Daddy played Quidditch at Hogwarts than by the fact that he defeated Voldemort. She shook her head. "Anyways, you'll get to see my Dad when we get to Hogwarts. He is the Defense against the Dark Arts Teacher." They all waited to hear more now, but she dropped back into her shell and stared out the window again.

She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she remembered was Robbie's voice advising them to get their robes on. She yawned sleepily, pushed her glasses up her nose and reached down to her trunk to remove her robe. She slipped her robe over head, minding her glasses, and brought her mind back to the conversation around her. They were talking about the sorting, something she knew about but would not share.

"I heard they make you do some sort of test." One of the girls remarked.

"I heard that they put you through some kind of torture" Another girl said fearfully.

Al spoke next "My brother says the teachers grill you for hours and then starve you for several more. That's why I have an extra supply of chocolate frogs."

Abby eyed the girl, who was rather plump, and thought that it might not be the only reason she carried the extra frogs.

Allison turned on Abby and asked "what did you hear?' The rest of the group looked at her with anxiety.

Abby shrugged "I suppose their might be monsters involved. That's what my sister told me. That's why I have one of these." She pulled out a stake from her sleeve and flashed it along with a smile.

Abby sighed. That memory seemed so long ago, yet it was only September. The action seemed to scare her compartment mates, except for Al, who laughed it off. Not surprising that only Al showed up for her Mum's funeral. They all considered her a bit of a freak. She too closely resembled her Father for everyone's comfort. If it wasn't for Al, Robbie, Art and Ron, she would have been all alone. She really wasn't liking school all that much and several times during the year wished she was back at her old primary school. Besides her Father's class and Charms, the only other class she was good at was, surprisingly, Herbology. She might be okay in Potions, but Uncle Draco picks on her so much; it's all she can do not to cry in his class. Maybe if she talked to Aunt Dawn, but so far she hasn't told anyone, except for Robbie.

She was sitting here in her favorite room in the house, Mum's training room. She was thinking about her, all the times she used to sneak down here to watch her train, only to be caught out each and every time by her Mum. She was nine before she figured out the whole Slayer hearing bit. Even then, she had to have Sarah explain it to her five times. Still, they all had a bit of hero worship when it came to Mum. They all thought she was indestructible. Even when she disappeared for that period of time when she was four, all three of them felt Mum would be back. And they were right, Mum did come back and then the twins followed. She bit back a grin on remembering that news. But now, now was different. Mum wasn't going to come back riding on the back of a dragon. Her tears and thoughts were interrupted by a voice. A female voice at that, though not one of her aunts or sisters.

"Hallo?" It called out again. Abby turned around. "Oh, hi Abby, I was looking for …" The voice trailed off as the owner of the voice, Nicole, Robbie's girlfriend, stopped and looked at her surroundings. Abby snorted. Nicole looked as if Robbie had just given the speech about Mum.

"What is this place?" Nicole asked.

"What does it look like?" Abby snapped back. "It's an exercise room. It was Her room." She added quietly and started to cry again.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Darling Nicky 

See Chapter one for disclaimers.

Nicole was confused. Just before running into Abby, Robbie had told her that his mum was a Slayer. That was the beginning of her confusion, how could Robbie's mum be a slayer? Slayers were supposed to be girls around her age or at least that's what Nicole learned as a Third Year in DADA. But the conversation she just had with Robbie seemed to throw that knowledge in doubt.

"Nic!" he exclaimed. "I didn't see you at the Church."

"We were there, but in the back. I didn't think you could see us through your Aunt. Plus, you were in kind of a daze."

Robbie nodded in understanding.

Nicole continued "I didn't expect to see all those people, especially all of the young girls and women. Who were they?"

Robbie looked pensive for a moment and then answered "They all worked for Mum."

Natalie blinked in disbelief "Robbie, how can they all have worked for your mother? Some of those girls are younger than me!"

Robbie looked around and not seeing anyone whispered to her "Look, Nic, I'm going to tell you something about my mother and all those girls, but you have to keep a secret."

Nicole put her hands on her hips and glared back at him "Robbie Potter, of course I can keep a secret."

He looked her over, sighed and took her hands, "I'm serious here, Nic, life and death serious."

Nicole fidgeted a bit "You're scaring me Robbie."

"I don't mean to, it's just, well," Robbie paused and looked around again, "Mum was a Slayer. The girls you saw at the funeral, they're also slayers. My Grandma N'issa is a slayer."

Nicole laughed. "You're taking the mickey out of me. I know perfectly well that there is only Slayer. Learned that one in Third Year."

Robbie shook his head "The textbook is wrong. Father made sure of that. The rules changed because of Mum and my Aunt Willow almost twenty years ago. Dad says the best way to keep'em all safe is to keep the Wizarding World in the dark about the true amount of slayers." Robbie laughed then. "Not a very good secret since the Watchers actively recruit at Hogwarts, but a secret nonetheless."

Nicole considered him for a bit "You're telling the truth aren't you. Or at least the truth as you believe it to be."

Robbie snarled at her "Of course it's the truth! Do you think I would lie about that? My Mum gave her life to protect this world and if you can't handle that, then you best be off. I'll make sure Father knows so he can get you back to Hogwarts."

He turned and stormed off, leaving her alone in the hall. Nicole slapped her head with her palm. She certainly knew how to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. She started up after him. "Robbie, wait!" It was too late, he was already gone.

So now she wandered through the house looking for him, to apologize and set things right. It was a lot to take in about Robbie's mum. When she visited during Christmas, she seemed so normal, a bit skittish around magic and had a rather strange accent. Robbie explained at the time that she was American. Like that accounted for everything.

She went into the room that she saw him enter, but found it empty. He seemed to have disappeared. She stood for a moment and looked around when she heard crying. Following the sound, she found herself in a room that looked like a gym. In the corner was a girl crying was Robbie's younger sister Abby. But what drew her attention was the room itself. It was incredible. Muggle exercise equipment in one area, a large matted area in the center for exercising or dueling. But what caught her eye were the various weapons in the cases along the wall. Swords, knives, daggers and axes and to judge by some of the nicks in the blades, they weren't all for show. She couldn't help but blurt out "What is this place?"

"It's an exercise room." Abby snorted in response and then added quietly, "It was her room."

Nicole watched as the girl broke down again. It would be very Slytherin of her to comfort her, to get back on Robbie's good side, but she didn't. She just stood there, letting her mind wander, thinking about Robbie, his life and his family.

Her mum warned her about getting involved with Potter's son, as she referred to Robbie. She remembered the conversation she had at the beginning of the year like it was yesterday.

"You really should stay away from that Potter boy. To be Potter's son is bad enough, but also to be the spawn of that, that Muggle!" Her mum spat out.

"But Mum, Robbie's the cutest boy in the whole school! Why wouldn't I want to go out with him? And what's wrong with his mum? I thought she was a witch?" She replied, confused.

"Ha! You'll have a hard time proving that by me. She just swooped in here with that bastard child of hers and stole him. I doubt she can even levitate a feather." Her mum responded.

Nicole was even more confused now. She had never heard her mother speak like this, so angry. It didn't seem like her at all. "How do you know Professor Potter? I mean other than the news, of course."

Her mum snorted "I went to Hogwarts, same year as his. And now that muggle sister of hers has got her claws on poor Draco."

Still confused, she asked her mum, "What does Professor Malfoy have to do with anything?"

Her mum sighed "We went to the Yule Ball together during our Fourth Year. We were the King and Queen of Slytherin."

"So what happened? How did you end up with Daddy instead?" Nicole inquired.

Her mum shrugged "My parents thought it best we separated." And that was all she would say on the matter. Nicole tried to question Father on it, but he refused to speak on it. Something about it being better to let sleeping dogs lay.

He always said "It is better to dwell on the present and the future rather than the past."

Besides, he didn't see a problem with her dating Robbie. He felt that his star at the Ministry just might shine a bit brighter because of it. So she took her father's advice and pursued Robbie, though he was pursuing her just as hard. Things were going rather well until his mum died.

Her attention returned to Abby. This strange young girl could actually be quite pretty, if she tamed her hair a bit and perhaps wore contacts, maybe even a touch of make up. She shook her head, this is madness. Here this poor girl is drowning in grief and all she can think about is giving her a make-over. Finally she found her voice again.

"Where's Robbie?" she asked the younger girl. "I thought I saw him enter this room."

Abby sniffed, looked up at her and gave her a small laugh. "Silly boy, now he's upset enough to change the house. Great, that makes three of them now. Four, if you include Grandfather, but only cause it was his house to begin with."

Nicole gave her a strange look. "Change the house? I didn't even think that was possible."

Abby explained "The way Grandfather tells it, the house is keyed to the emotions of the owners, it changes its configuration. Daddy and Sarah can both do it, if they get upset enough. Once Mum got so chagrinned at the two of them because they got at it so badly, she couldn't find her bedroom for a whole week." Abby sniffed. "Of course if she wanted to get back at Daddy, she put on this ditzy blond act. Used to drive Daddy crazy."

Nicole looked at her with a shock. "That's exactly how she appeared during Christmas holiday."

"She always knew what was what." Abby explained. She gave Nicole a watery smile, "Although I could always break her down with tears."

Nicole laughed and offered her hand "Let's see if we can find your brother. I owe him a bit of an apology."

Abby shook her head. "It's no use. He probably got Sarah to tell him where her tree house is located and is now hiding there. Only Sarah, Daddy and David know where it is, some sort of weird charm hides it."

"Fidelius Charm?" Nicole added.

"Yeah, that's it. So there is no finding him until Daddy fetches him." Abby explained.

Nicole fumed "But can't I get your sister to tell me where it is?

Abby wiped her eyes and laughed "You must be joking. The only reason she gave him access today is for Mum's funeral. She certainly won't give you access. I don't think she even likes you."

"But you know where it is?" Nicole pleaded.

The young girl glared at her. "Weren't you listening? I can't tell you because I Don't Know!"

"Okay, sorry" Nicole said, putting up her hands. She started to quickly exit the room, where she ran straight into Professor Potter.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 She said "How are you Harry?"

Lyric from Harry Chapin's"Taxi"

Harry groaned as he watched the Sorting Hat once again struggle in placing one of his daughters as it seemed to sit forever on Abby's head. It did the same thing with Sarah too. Oddly enough, Robbie was sorted the fastest. He told Harry later that the hat told him that he has the perfect mix of his Father's and Mother's courage. Still, Harry was pleased when the Hat finally declared Abigail as Gryffindor. Not that it really mattered, except if she had been sorted into Slytherin, especially now that Malfoy was now head of House for Slytherin. It was bad enough he was now Abby's Uncle by marriage, Harry didn't need for him to become her surrogate father too. He watched her as she walked by the Head Table.

She gave him a warm smile, waved and called out "Hi Daddy!" as she made her way to the Gryffindor Table where her brother was holding place for her.

Malfoy poked him "'Hi Daddy'? Really Potter, your daughter should show some decorum of respect." He drawled.

Harry turned and glared at him. "What are you on about? She's your niece now. Or do I have to owl Dawn and tell her you're being a prat to her favorite niece?"

Draco snarled back "All I'm saying Potter, is that she better watch herself in my class. I'll not be playing favorites."

Harry was about to reply back when Severus weighed in." Potter, Malfoy, need I remind you that you are both teachers now. Please try to act the part."

The both grumbled in reply "Yes Headmaster."

Harry returned to the feast in front of him. Afterwards, he wandered over to Gryffindor tower to check in on Robbie and Abigail.

Harry's mind was brought back to the present when he ran into to Robbie's girlfriend "Miss LeStran?"

She looked up and gulped, "Professor Potter, er, um, you haven't seen Robbie, have you?

He shook his head. "I was about to look for him." He glanced at his watch. "It's getting late. Are you and your friends staying the night or should I arrange a portkey for you to get back to Hogwarts?"

"Um, I don't know yet, sir. I was hoping for a chance to talk to Robbie again, but he seemed to have disappeared..."

Harry thought for a minute, "Try the roof, it's where he usually goes to brood."

She gave him a quick smile and he watched her move quickly toward the staircase. Harry shook his head as he watched her, wondering if Robbie would still be interested in the girl if he knew her mother attacked his mum sister so many years ago. Perhaps it would be better if he didn't know. He turned and went about trying to track down his remaining children. He entered the training room and was greeted by the scene of Abigail sitting on one of the mats, crying. He bent down and gently teased "You know you will ruin your dress sitting on the floor like that."

She looked up, eyes red from crying and launched herself into his chest. "Oh Daddy!" she exclaimed with a sob.

He gathered her into a tight hug, soothing her by rubbing her back "Shhh, Pumpkin, I know it hurts. But if it helps, she is in Heaven."

She looked up from his shirt, wiping her tears away "How do you know that Daddy?"

Harry considered this for a moment. She was only eleven, not really old enough to know the truth behind that statement. So he improvised. "Your mother was a warrior for the Light and all warriors for the Light go to Heaven." It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth.

Abby seemed to accept that, whispering softly "Do you miss her Daddy?"

He hugged his daughter even tighter to himself "With all my heart and soul Pumpkin, with all my heart and soul."

Harry found Robert on the roof several hours later. Nicole LeStran was not with him. Harry did not know what to make of that situation. His head was already hurting from the row he had earlier with Sarah. She was trying to be noble by offering to quit University and stay home and help him with the twins.

"I'm quitting Uni," she exclaimed "and moving back home with you. So I can help out with the twins."

Harry's voice rose "You'll do no such thing, young lady. You will finish Uni like your Mum wanted."

Sarah pouted "But Daddy, Paris is just not the same without Mum."

Harry sighed "I know dear, but your Mum's dream was for you to finish Uni."

"But I don't want to!" She shouted back "And you can't make me."

"Fine, bloody well quit Uni then. But don't think…" Harry stopped, closed his eyes and pushed glasses back to his face, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath; he really didn't want to argue with Sarah today. They were both too wrapped up in grief to think clearly. He reached out a hand to her shoulder and pulled her to him "Look, Sarah, dear, please think about this. Mum and I both dearly wanted you to go to Uni. It doesn't have to stay Paris. Finish the term and we'll both sit down and talk."

She looked up at him, sniffed and nodded, adding "But who will look after the twins?"

"I will. I've already told Severus that I won't be returning to Hogwarts"

This, of course, set off another argument with Sarah. Harry sighed and walked over to where Robbie was sitting. "Robert, you need to come in now." He announced to his son. Robbie didn't look at him or even acknowledge that he heard him. He tried again. "Robert, Come in now. Your sisters and aunts are waiting downstairs for you. The guests are all leaving or most of them anyway."

"I can bring her back" Robbie stated.

Harry stopped short "What?"

"I can bring her back. There's this spell that brought her back before. I know I can do it." Robbie explained, still not looking at Harry.

Harry growled at his son "You'll do no such thing. Your Mum is dead and in Heaven. That is where she'll remain."

Robbie turned to him and looked at him with such pain in his eyes. "But don't you see, I need her, we need her. I don't care where she's at now, I need her here! I want her back."

Harry reached out to his son, "Robert, I know you're hurting. I am too. But bringing her back isn't the answer." He said gently to him. But Robbie wouldn't look at Harry; instead he shrugged away his hand and moved away from him.

"You don't know that. You don't even care that she's dead. I hate you!" Robbie shouted back at Harry.

Harry sighed again, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, another one of his children hating him. "That's not fair Robert. I loved your mother with all my heart and soul. But because I don't make a public spectacle or want to perform Dark Magic to bring her back, doesn't mean that I don't care." Seeing his words have no effect on Robbie's disposition, he continued. "Fine, then. Sit up here and brood. But if I find out you are messing with Dark Magic…" He left the threat unspoken, unsure about what he would actually do, hoping the veiled threat would be enough to keep his son from doing something very dark and very dangerous.

Robbie flushed when Harry finished and looked away. Then much quieter, "I read about it in one of her Slayer diaries. I snuck it from the library over the summer. I remembered it at the funeral."

Harry stood there dumbfounded for a minute but then replied "If you read her diary, then you should also know that she was in Heaven. And that she suffered from extreme depression when she found herself yanked out. If I remember correctly, her first words when she came back were 'Is this Hell?'"

Robbie hung his head "I know. But this time it will be different. She has all of us to cheer her."

Harry shook his head "Son, it doesn't work like that."

"You're just afraid to try!" Robbie shouted and stormed away from Harry, leaving him alone on the roof of his Kensington house.

Later that evening, Harry poured himself a glass of merlot and sank back into the deep leather chair in his drawing room. The children were finally asleep and most of the guests retired for the night.

"Do you have anymore of that?" a female voice asked him. He looked up. It was Hermione.

"About a half a bottle, there's another glass under the cabinet. Help yourself." Harry replied.

She poured herself a glass and sat down in the seat across from Harry in front of the fireplace. The fire was going full blaze, making the area quite warm and brightening an otherwise dark room.

"Where's Ron?" He asked her.

"Oh, he took Ariel and the boys back to the house awhile ago." Hermione replied. Harry nodded in understanding. "How are you holding up?"

Harry gave her a hard look, took a long sip of his wine and stared back at the fire.

"Harry, I know it's hard…"She started, but Harry cut her off.

"No, you really don't know. The woman I love is dead and two of my children hate me for it."

Hermione almost dropped her wine glass in surprise, "What?"

"Sarah and Robert both hate me now. Sarah hates me because I won't let her drop out of Uni and Robbie because I won't let him bring her back from the dead."

This time Hermione did drop her wine glass after that last statement, but Harry snatched it before it crashed to the floor. "Here," he said, handing the glass back to her, "try to be a bit more careful. These glasses were wedding gifts from Mr. Giles.

Hermione winced at the word wedding but noticed Harry did not. "Er, Harry, the bit about raising Buffy from the dead, you weren't serious, were you?" Harry gave her a look. "Where on earth did he get that idea from?"

"Apparently from her diary, he read it over the summer." Harry replied distantly.

"She was joking, wasn't she?" Hermione asked tentatively, "You know, about the whole girl-who-died twice thing was to sort of counter the whole boy-who-lived thing."

Harry sighed and rose "Follow me." He led her from the drawing room into the library, murmured a word and entered a hidden part of the room. Along the left wall, he reached up and pulled down a slim volume and handed it to her. Hermione took the book and moved to sit at a small desk in the room. Opening the volume, she began to read:

"October 2001, so I had to claw my way out of my grave. My hands have finally healed enough for me to write this. Why did Willow do this to me? Didn't she realize I was in Heaven? What do I do now?"

Hermione shakily put down the book. Harry handed her another volume, a bit thicker than the last. This one was titled "The Watcher's Chronicle of Rupert Giles". She opened to the pages indicated by Harry and read the passage that he indicated. After he was sure she had read the passage, he snatched that book away from her too. Hermione sat there, a dazed expression on her face, unsure what to say next. Then she spoke, "Harry, this is incredible. This means that we can bring her back. All we have to do…"

But Harry interrupted her with a loud "No!"

Hermione looked up at him, her brown eyes pleading "But Harry, we can bring her back. Surely…"

Harry cut her off again "Don't you understand? If she's dead, then she is in Heaven. That is where she will stay. I refuse to rip her out Heaven, no matter how much my family is hurting. Didn't you read her Diary?"

Hermione replied "Of course I did, but what if she's not dead?"

Harry shook his head "She's dead alright. I charmed our wedding bands to glow when both parties are alive." He shoved his ring in front of her. "See, no glow. Besides, she would have had to have died a mystical death. A plane crash is hardly mystical."

Hermione fidgeted.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that nobody could find the wreckage?"

"No. Big ocean, not so big plane, the pieces could be anywhere." Harry replied firmly. He had given a lot of thought to the problem when he first heard the news, but when his ring stopped glowing, Harry knew. Still the thought made him pensive as he paced about the small room while Hermione chewed her bottom lip. They were both brought short by a small voice calling out from beyond the room.

"Daddy?" It was Emily. She walked into the room just as Harry and Hermione exited the hidden area of the library. "Daddy, I'm scared. I was sleeping and I had a bad dream. I thought I saw Mummy fighting monsters and the monsters were beating Mummy up and …" Her voice broke down into sobs. Harry rushed over to his daughter and scooped up the small frightened child. He quieted her down with a gentle rocking motion and the soft sounds of a light lullaby. Her crying soon stopped and her breathing evened and deepened into sleep.

Harry looked over Emily's shoulder at Hermione and whispered "I'm going to put Emily back to bed, stay?" He gave her a pleading look. He really didn't want to be alone with his thoughts just yet.

Hermione nodded, seeming to feel her friend's need of comfort. "I'll meet you in the drawing room." She whispered back. "I'll just Floo Ron and let him know I'll be later."

Harry gave her a quick smile in thanks and turned to put his youngest daughter to bed.

When Harry returned to the drawing room, he was surprised by the sight of Ron with Hermione. "Who's minding the manor?" Harry asked.

"Art and Ron," Ron replied, "Told 'em that they were old enough to look after Ariel if she woke up."

Harry nodded, and walked over to the small table between the chairs where the open bottle of wine was sitting. He reached over and pouring himself another glass, looked up at Ron "Would you like a glass? There's enough here for one more."

Ron looked over at Hermione hesitantly, "Er, no thanks Harry." Then after a beat, "How many of those have you had tonight mate?"

Harry shrugged "Not enough. I can still feel the pain." He walked back to his chair in front of the fireplace and sank back down in it, staring blankly at the fireplace.

"Harry, you shouldn't drink so much" Hermione admonished him. You need to keep it together for your family."

Harry drained his glass and placed it down on the table hard. "Hold it together? Haven't you been listening? Two of my children hate me, the middle one wants to join Buffy and the youngest still see her fighting monsters. So, tell me Hermione, what exactly am I keeping together?" He sank back down in his chair, defeated.

Hermione put a hand on his shoulder, "Harry, you don't have to this alone. We are all here to help, even Ron. Your children don't really hate you. It is just grief."

Harry sighed "I know Hermione. It's just I feel so lost without her."

Hermione nodded "I understand. Well, I better get back, no telling what those two boys are up to. Coming Ron?"

Ron shook his head "Nah. I think I'll stay for a while."

Hermione turned and left to Floo home leaving Harry and Ron alone. Ron turned to Harry and said "Game of chess, then?"

Harry looked up, wiped the tears from his eyes and for the first time in days, laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 "Talk, Talk, its only talk

He couldn't let this go, not with all his heart and soul. He would get her back that was his only thought this morning. After breakfast, he approached his Aunt Willow. "Aunt Willow, can I ask you something?"

She eyed him warily "Sure Robbie, ask me anything."

"How did you bring Mum back the last time?"

Aunt Willow looked shocked. "Wh-Why do you want to know that?"

"Because I want to know." Robbie replied.

Aunt Willow shook her head. "No need to know that bit of info, your Mum is dead and she's in a good place. No more dead raising for me or for you either, mister."

"But Aunt Willow, I have to know. I need her so much and the twins and Abby also need her. Please tell me how you brought her back." Robbie pleaded and gave her his best puppy dog look, the one he picked up from his mother.

Willow sighed. She never could resist look. "Alright, I'll tell you on one condition."

"What's that?"

"That you never, ever ask me about it again or even attempt it."

Robbie crossed his fingers behind his back. "Alright, I promise."

Willow drew a breath to collect her thoughts. "Alright, it was like this: I soaked up all of the magic in the books in Giles's Magic shop. Then I marched into the Hospital operating room and removed the bullet lodged in your mother's chest and then healed her."

Robbie looked flabbergasted. This was not the tale he was expecting and started to stutter "Th-that's not what I meant."

Willow's eyes widened in mock surprise "It's not? But I thought you wanted know how I brought her back. OH, you mean the first time." Robbie nodded. Willow shrugged "Well you should have said so, too late for that now."

Robbie started to protest "But you promised!"

Willow grinned "And I kept my promise. Just like I kept my promise to your mother not to talk to you about how I resurrected her the first time. And don't think I didn't know about you crossing your fingers either, mister."

Robbie was furious. "You're as bad as father. You don't care about her either!"

"Hey! That is so not true. Your mom and I have been friends longer than you have been alive. I care deeply about her but I refuse to bring her back. I brought her back before thinking I was doing a good thing. Only to find out that I ripped her out of Heaven. I can't do that again." She paused to catch her breath and then continuing quieter, placing a hand on Robbie's shoulder. "Death is never easy to accept, but your mom would want you to try. You especially, you need to accept and help your younger sisters get through this thing."

Robbie shrugged her hand off and looked at her "But who's supposed to help me? I need my mum."

"That's what we're here for, to help you." Willow added quietly.

Robbie shook his head. "No. You aren't helping. The only way you can help is by bringing her back."

Willow shook her head. "Not going to happen, young man."

"Then I have nothing to say to you. I hate you, you and father." He shouted and stormed out of the room and ran straight into his older sister, Sarah.

"Watch where you're going." He snapped.

His sister stopped and glared at him "Or what? You'll hex me? Please, little bro, you're not going to yourself expelled."

"Why not? No one around here would care. They certainly don't care enough about Mum to bring her back."

His sister snarled back at him "Are you completely nutters? Of course I want her back, but you're not going to get her back if you keep acting like a prat." She steered him into the music room and sat him down in a chair. "Look, Robbie, I want Mum back as much as you do, but we need to be a bit sneakier about getting our information. What did you find out from Aunt Willow?"

"Nothing, except that she died a third time." Robbie said dejectedly.

"Three times!" Sarah squeaked. Robbie nodded. Sarah drew a breath and smoothed her skirt. "Right then, so Aunt Willow is out. I can try to work on Aunt Dawn and also Uncle Xander when he comes around. Did Daddy change the password on the restricted section of the library?"

"Yeah, I tried that this morning. I tried all the different variations of past passwords and nothing worked." Robbie replied.

"Bet I could charm it out of him eventually, but not today. I think Daddy might be a bit upset with me from last night."

Robbie snorted "You're right about that. I heard you had another row with him last night."

Sarah slapped him gently "Shut it! Like you were any better. Meantime, maybe you can work on Uncle Draco. He practically loathes Daddy. See if you can get him to give you a pass to the Restricted Section of the library at Hogwarts."

"Uncle Draco? I never thought of that. I figured maybe Aunt Dawn or Uncle Xander might know, but not Uncle Draco." Then he looked at her warily. "Wait a second; you're not planning on involving your friends are you? Or rat me out to Father?"

Sarah gave him a sly smile "Daddy's not the only member of this family to be considered Slytherin material. But I won't rat you out to Daddy. I want to help you, even if I have to make up with Daddy."

Robbie grinned "Alright sis, let's shake on it." They shook hands and agreed to work together to try to find some way to bring their mother back.

In the Nursery that morning, a different conversation was taking place. Eleanor turned to her twin and said "Did you tell Daddy about our dream last night?"

"Uh huh. But I don't think he believed me." Emily replied.

"That's because he's a grown up." Eleanor retorted with finality.

Emily looked over at her twin and protested "But he's Daddy!"

"Still a grown up. Grown ups don't understand us." Eleanor explained.

"Mummy did." Emily said. "She was a grown up."

"Mummy was different." Eleanor said with a sigh. Emily agreed. No one but Mum understood them. Still she had to try to get somebody to listen to them, to understand their dreams. Because their dreams always come true.

Dawn sat on the roof, knees tucked under her chin, as she watched the sun rise over the house tops. She loved this time of day; it usually meant that her sister would be home, safe and sound from another night of patrol. It has been many years since Buffy used to go out on patrol, but it still held the same sense of safety for Dawn. Now, this morning, seemed a bit emptier without her sister in it. She heard a clatter behind, but did not look back.

"She won't be coming back anytime soon." It was her grandfather.

Dawn sighed, but still didn't turn around. "I know, but a girl can't but hope."

Her grandfather walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, not saying a word, stood with her to watch the sunrise.

"I hear you're going back to Chicago tomorrow." Dawn said after a moment.

"Your Aunt Darlene needs to get back and since I came with her…" He let the thought go unfinished.

"You could stay." Dawn offered.

"It's not my house anymore. Anyway, I would just get in Harry's way. An old man used up beyond his years." He replied.

Dawn scoffed "You're hardly all used up. You've got lots of things you can do. Besides, the Organization needs you, now that Buffy's gone."

"I've done my share, young lady. It's up to you and Rupert now. That's why they call it retirement."

"Still, you could stay. You're the only family I have left." Dawn pleaded.

"Nonsense, you have a husband now and all these wonderful nieces and nephew. Not to mention your own father." He replied.

Dawn sighed and looked back out across the city. She realized he was right. Still she felt closer to him than her father. He put them up for those months after the fall of Sunnydale when they were both homeless. Their father didn't even enter the picture until Buffy's wedding. A thought crossed her mind "What is going to happen to the house?"

"Nothing, its Harry's house now, though I suspect Sarah and Robert has just as much influence over it."

Dawn let out a laugh, stood up and walked with her grandfather back into the house.

Just before lunch, Harry met up with Willow. "Did he ask you yet?

"Yep, just after breakfast. He wasn't too pleased with my answer, though." Willow replied.

"Oh, why is that?"

"Because he asked me the wrong question." She paused, waiting for Harry to comment.

Harry just shrugged and the let comment go. He wasn't up to playing twenty questions, he was just glad Willow didn't tell him how to raise Buffy from the dead.

"You really didn't have to worry, you know. I would have never told him anyway. I promised Buffy that I would never tell and I didn't. Your kids are just cleverer than you think. They know or at least Robbie and Sarah know that I was the only witch with enough power to bring her back. Certainly not Xander, 'cause he's Mr. Ordinary. And not Anya, cause she wasn't a demon then and certainly not Tara, cause she was just too pure. Besides, even if -" She never got the chance to finish that statement because Kennedy appeared at that moment and stopped her with a kiss.

Harry looked over at the two women with bemusement. On the one hand, he was glad that Kennedy interceded. If she hadn't, who knows how long Willow would have rambled. On the other hand, he was bit forlorn because he could never do that again to Buffy. The two lovers broke the kiss and Willow blushed and started to apologize. Harry stopped her. "Don't apologize. Just stick around for the fireworks when Narcissa finds out I'm not returning to Hogwarts."

Willow looked confused. "Why would that upset Narcissa?"

"Because she believes it is her duty to raise my children." He looked down at his watch. "She should be finding out about now."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- The Search for Mary Poppins

Chapter 7- The Search for Mary Poppins

Narcissa was fretting when she heard of Harry's plans. She has already made her own arrangements to take care of the twins. Ideally, she should haveconsulted Harry first, but there really wasn't time. The idea came to her a week ago, well the nanny idea anyway. Truth be told, she had a different plan in mind altogether before Buffy died. She, Narcissa knew what a handful the twins were and how poorly Buffy was coping withjust the two of them. With the other children off at Hogwarts or University, there was no one to rein in the excesses that the twins seemed to generate. Plus the usual pulls on Buffy's time, seemed to run the poor woman down by the end of the day, slayer strength or not. Harry only caught glimpses of this when he flooed in every evening and some weekends. But Buffy seemed to cover it up before Harry could react. Narcissa would be there the next morning to watch her fall apart after Harry and the twins left for the day. So Narcissawasn't surprised that Buffy took up the offer to help open up the new branch in Sydney. The poor woman needed a break from her family and friends. The opportunity to offer Buffy some help came about a month ago when she spotted the person she would have least expected, bruised and battered at St. Mungo's during her monthly volunteer shift.

_"Mrs. Boot? Who did this to you?" Narcissa said with worry. She remembered the woman from when she went to school with Draco. She was always a bright girl, usually competing with her son and Granger for top honors._

_The woman looked up at her with terror. "No- no one did this to me." She stuttered out. "I was just a bit clumsy, is all."_

_"Nonsense, child, I know the difference between self-inflicted and a beating inflicted by someone else." Narcissa replied sternly._

_"No, it really is my fault. I messed up the last dinner party Terry has planned. I burned the soup and had to haveMrs. Boots house elf fix the rest of the dinner. Everyone saw the house elf and now Terry has to live with the shame of it." The woman said, looking away from Narcissa._

_"I don't care if you blew up the kitchen nothing deserves the type of beating you received."_

It was at that point that Narcissa made up her mind to make this woman her new project. But now these plans that she made were going by the wayside because of Harry's new decision. She stormed into the room in a state of agitation with Dawn and Draco trailing behind her, both curious to why Narcissa was in such a state. She marched up to Harry with a look that could kill. "What is all this about you quitting Hogwarts?" She yelled.

Harry ignored her and began talking to Willow. "See? I knew she would be this way."

"Harry! I was talking to you." Narcissa yelled.

"Yes, I was aware of that Narcissa. Did you need something?"

Narcissa sighed; this wasn't going the way she expected. "Yes, I asked you a question. Is it true you are quitting Hogwarts?"

"Of course it's true. Who do you think is going to take care of the twins? Certainly not you." He snapped back.

"Why not?" asked Narcissa, "I've taken care of them before. I was looking after them just this past week while you were out searching for Buffy."

"Because I'm their Father, that's why!" Harry shouted. Seeing that Narcissa was going to protest even louder, he put up his hand. "Peace, Narcissa. I don't mean to imply…"

"Then what did you mean? Do you question my child rearing abilities?" Narcissa interrupted angrily.

At this point, Willow got up and dragged Kennedy out of the room. "Um, we have something we have to do, don't we Ken?"

"But Willow," Kennedy stopped when she saw Willow's resolve face, "yeah we have that thing we need to do'' and followed Willow out of the room.

Harry gave Narcissaa devious smile "Now that you mention it, I do imply that. Let's look at the record, shall we? Starting with my good friend Draco, a man who had to become an adult before he stopped acting like a spoiled little brat, bullying everyone and everything in his way."

Draco, who had been silent up till now, growled "Watch it Potty, you're treading on thin ice here."

Harry shook his head. "See even now, related to me through marriage, he still manages to be snarky during my wife's mourning period."

Draco raised his hand to strike Harry, but Dawn held him back pleading, "Draco, no, please try and be civil."

Harry continued "And what, pray tell, were you planning on doing once your very own grandchild is born? Will you neglect the twins then?"

Narcissa smiled now, she had a plan and it would all work out now. "No, I would never neglect your children Harry, but you must admit the twins are a handful for anyone. I was thinking more on the line of a getting you a nanny to help with the twins."

Harry sat there and stared dumbfounded at the trio. He then let out a harsh laugh and said "What like Mary bloody Poppins?"

Now it was Narcissa's and Draco's turn to stare dumbfounded as each didn't have a clue to what Harry was talking about. Dawn did, of course, and shrugged, "Well yea, sorta, except without the – oh wait, she probably does do all that stuff, except with a wand." The thought of which, Mary Poppins with a wand, made Harry and Dawn break out laughing.

Draco eyed the two suspiciously, "What are you two on about?"

Dawn paused mid-laugh, "Oh nothing, just a silly muggle pop reference. Maybe I'll have the twins show the DVD sometime, it is one of their favorites." Draco still looked at her suspiciously but accepted the answer.

Harry pulled himself together and looked at Dawn, "Thanks, I haven't had a laugh like that since…" He let his voice trail off. It was still too painful to say out loud too often. Looking back at Narcissa he asked. "You're serious about this nanny thing, aren't you?" Narcissa nodded. "So who did you have in mind?"

Harry was shocked to see Padma Patil at his doorstep the next morning. "Padma, what are you doing here? Where's Terry?"

Padma just stood there nervously looking over this imposing house in Kensington. It was the first time she had been over to the Potter house, she had of course seen them together at parties for the ministry, but never actually been over to their house. She remembered again her last meeting with Mrs. Malfoy.

_"How can I leave Terry? Won't the scandal be awful?" Padma asked._

_"Leave that to me. All you need to concern yourself with is reporting over to Harry's place in two weeks time. Buffy will be delighted to see you."_

_"But I haven't worked with children in over seven years." Padma protested._

_"Nonsense, I see you volunteer at the Nursery at St. Mungo's every month. Just because you no longer teach does not mean you have lost your touch with children." Mrs. Malfoy replied._

But then Mrs. Potter died and Padma worried if she should still show up at the house. A flue call from Mrs. Malfoy reassured her. Now standing there, lost in her thoughts, so much so that she didn't hear him until the second time he asked her. "Oh, hi Harry. I mean Mr. Potter. I mean – Oh I don't know what I mean." She took a deep breath and started again "Hi Harry, I'm here for the position. I have credentials."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. He looked her over; she was dressed conservatively in a long, grey muggle skirt, with a grey jacket over a white blouse and her hair in a tight bun on her head. Harry stepped aside to allow her to come into the house. Padma thought that this was a bit odd and called him on it. Harry shrugged "When you livein a household with a vampire slayer for 18 years, you pick up the tricks of the trade. Rule number 1: Never invite anyone into your house. Vampires can only enter upon invitation."

Padma nodded politely, not really understanding the whole explanation. She didn't want to tell her future employer that he was delusional. Slayers, of course, were a myth. Perhaps it was just Harry's grief talking.

"Come along then, we'll finish up in the study." Harry said. He led her into a room on the first floor of the house. It was centered by a large desk with a computer screen. Quills and an inkstand also occupied the desk. Padma noticed that the study wasn't empty. She spotted Mrs. Malfoyoff the side chatting with a young woman who had long brown hair and bright blue eyes. The young woman was also several months pregnant. Padma eyed her suspiciously. Harry cleared his throat and the other two women in the room stopped talking and glanced over at Harry and Padma. Harry made the introductions.

"You know Narcissa, of course. She's the one who talked me into hiring a nanny and the one who really recommended you."

Padma gave her a polite nod and mouthed a thank you to her.

"The young woman seated next to her is my sister-in-law, Dawn. She helped Narcissa to convince me to take on a nanny."

Padmamoved to where Dawn was sitting and gave a slight curtsey to the young woman. "Padma Patil, at your service Ma'am."

"Pfft. Please, just call me Dawn. I'm way too young to be called Ma'am and there is no need to be so formal." Dawn gave her a welcoming smile, helping to put Padma more at ease.

"So Padma," Harry continued, looking at her still with a bit of confusion, "I thought you were married to Terry Boot?"

Padma looked away. "Um, no, not anymore, in fact, Narcissa helped to rescue me that situation."

Harry studied her, surprised by the comment. "Rescued you? I didn't realize that you were in trouble."

Padma shook her head, "No nothing like that, it was just that…" She stopped unsure how to continue. After a beat, she continued "Terry was just a bit too demanding, is all. I tried to help, but I wasn't a very good wife."

It was Dawn who picked up on the thought that crossed Harry's mind. "Oh my God! He beat you, didn't he?" She exclaimed with horror.

Padmalooked up startled "No, no, it wasn't like that. I just kept messing things up. I couldn't give him what he wanted. I, I …" She started to break down, tears falling down her face as the weight of all seven years of marriage fell upon her.

Narcissa moved quickly to comfort her, wrapping the younger woman in a hug, gently rubbing her back as Padma struggled to get her feelings under control. "It's all right now, child. He can't hurt you anymore."

Harry, looking a bit lost, offered "I could call Percy and have him sacked, if you like?"

Padma's face reddened in embarrassment "No, No, please don't…" her voice trailed off, fear evident now on her face.

Harry scoffed "Why not? He can't hurt you here, you know. Plus you'll have the protection of at least a dozen slayers who always seem to be hanging around the house." He paused and looked over at Narcissa, "You did tell her about slayers?"

Narcissa stiffened, and let go of Padma, allowing the younger woman to collapse into a chair. "Of course I told her, Harry. Or at least I tried." She gave a pointed look at Padma who just sighed. Dawn stood to the side smirking at the situation and the doubt in the woman's eyes.

Padma looked up at Harry "I am sorry Harry. It is all just a lot to take in at once. I've always believed the Slayer to be a myth and now I have both Narcissa and you telling me that the Slayer not only exists but that there are hundreds of them all over the world. Are you sure it's not just your grief talking?"

Harry sighed, "Look, Padma, I know it is a lot to take in, but Slayers are real. Both my wife and Narcissa are Slayers and Dawn here…"

Padma interrupted "She's a Slayer too?"

Dawn laughed "No, not a Slayer, but I help run the organization that is responsible for them."

Padma shook her head. "Sorry, it's just a lot to take in."

Harry smiled "Don't worry; you'll have plenty of time to adjust. Would you like to meet the children and get a tour of the house?"

Padma looked up at him in surprise "Do you mean that I have the job?"

Harry shrugged "Well, yes, I really don't have a whole lot of time to search for a nanny. But Narcissa here felt it was for the best and so here we are."

He rose and she rose shakily to her feet to follow him. She shouldn't be so nervous, she told herself. After all, it was only Harry, the same man who she went to school withfor seven years. Yet her experience withTerry had scared her and feeling vulnerable and helpless. Just now it felt as if her knees would give way and she started to wobble. Thankfully, Narcissa was right there to hold her steady and together they followed Harry out of the study.

They entered into a larger room where Padma noticed five new faces staring back at her, three with cautious curiosity and two with outright hostility. Harry motioned for the children to stand up, oldest to youngest. "Alright Padma, here are your new charges, such as they may be." He pointed to the oldest girl, "Sarah, age 18, currently attending University in Paris." The auburn haired girl stepped forward and bowed stiffly, the hostility on her face very evident. "You needn't worry about her until summer." Sarah stepped back into line.

"Next we have Robert, age 15, currently a 5th year student at Hogwarts. Again, he will be occupied until summer." The only boy in the group stepped forward and following the actions of his older sister, bowed. His face too, never lost its glare of hostility. He straightened and also stepped back into line.

"After Robert, we have Abigail, age 11, and soon to be age 12. She is also a 1st year at Hogwarts." A small girl, who looked a lot like Harry, bowed like her brother and sister. But instead of malice, curiosity was on her face. "Her situation is the same as the first two." She gave Padma a quick smile and stepped back into line.

"And finally, we have my two babies, Eleanor and Emily, both aged 7." Two even smaller girls with chestnut brown hair and deep blue eyes bounced out of line in front of Padma. Padma did a double take, looking at Dawn and then back down to the twins. "Despite their looks, they are mine, err, that is Buffy's and mine." Harry added noticing her confusion. "These two will be your main concern. You are to make sure they get to Primary school in the morning, get to their respective cricket and football practices after school and they get home in the evening. You are also to help make sure their homework gets done, though I will be home every night to check on that too."

Padma nodded in understanding. "What happens when summer comes and the children are no longer in school?"

Harry frowned "How the bloody hell do I know? I'm just playing this by ear. This wasn't my idea to begin with. I guess we still go to California or maybe Chicago."

"What's in California?" Padma asked.

"The children's grandfather, it is where we usually go for holiday. Though, I don't know if we'll go this year. Maybe we'll end up in Chicago. I get along better with old man anyway."

Padma was confused now. "Grandfather, old man, is that not the same thing?"

"No. Grandfather is Mum's grandfather. Grandpa Hank is our granddad." Sarah interjected.

Harry shot a glare at her. "Rupert was more of a father than he was to her."

Padma was even more confused "Who is Rupert? Why did he raise Buffy? Who are all these people?"

Narcissa tried to intervene "Harry, we can fill Padma in later as to the various relations in Buffy's life. For now, you are just confusing the poor woman."

Harry glare at Narcissa "Fine. Then you bloody well inform her. You're the one who wanted her in the first place." He shouted and stormed out of the room leaving the children upset and Narcissa, Dawn and Draco exasperated.

Padma drew a breath, it was now or never. She stood cleared her throat and announced "Alright everyone, listen up. I know I'm not your mother; I'll never be your mother. But I believe we can work together to keep this household going. Narcissa, I do appreciate all of your help, but if you keep making decisions for Harry, he is going to resent you. Dawn, I expect I'll see a lot of you around this place and I am happy for that. I need someone to help me get around this place. Draco, thank Merlin that you are going back to Hogwarts. I would hate to haveto deal with you on top of all this chaos." She spread her arms to indicate the noisy atmosphere of the room. "So I hope that you all see that I am not a monster, just a woman trying to do a job." She sank back into a nearby chair to see if her words had any effect, when she saw just a glimmer of hope, the eldest girl struggling to hold a giggle from her remark to Draco. So maybe there was hope yet.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – "I suppose I should collect my books and get on back to school."

Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter are owned by Joss Whedon and J.K. Rowlings and their respective corporate masters. I own nothing except the children, which are figment of my overly fertile imagination.

There might be hope yet, Abby thought on the train ride back to Hogwarts. The Nanny seemed like a nice enough lady even though Sarah and Robbie were rather rude to her. She told Robbie, who was now sitting across from her, "Daddy is not trying to replace mummy. He's just getting help for Eleanor and Emily."

Robbie huffed back, "She is way too pretty to be just a nanny. You just wait and see I bet he replaces her for Mum."

Abby shook her head, "I just think you're being pigheaded, you and Sarah both. Daddy is much to upset about Mummy to even think that way. You should really give her a chance."

Robbie just shrugged and returned to his studies. He told her that he had fallen behind in his studies for his O.W.L. s. This confused Abby since Robbie was always several chapters ahead of everybody else and usually finished first or second in all his subjects. Abby wished she was so lucky, as it was she was going to have to struggle to keep up. She should probably follow Robbie's example and start studying but she was just too tired.

Her father reentered the compartment with some snacks. He passed them out to the two of them silently and returned his attention to the book he was currently reading. Abby shook her head, as her father was also eerily quiet during this whole ride. Abby decided then and there to ignore the men in her family. It was still fascinating every time she rode the train seeing the city pass into suburbs and finally to farm, then repeat the process as the train traveled through smaller cities and towns on the way from England to Scotland. She must have fallen asleep, for the next thing she remembered was her father gently waking her.

"Abigail, dear, we're here how."

She looked up and gave him a sleepy smile. He smiled back at her. It was the first time in two weeks she had seen him smile, since before mum left two weeks ago. Two weeks, she thought, it had only been two weeks. It felt like two years. Two weeks in which her world had turned upside down. She shook her head trying to clear it from her thoughts. At least she was able to rest without dreaming on the train ride. Her dreams of late had been haunted by images of strange girls and monsters. What did it all mean? She would have normally have asked her mum about them, since her mum used to stress the importance of dreams. But her mum was no longer around and Abby did not want to bother Daddy about it, since he looked so lost these past two weeks. All the adults in her life seemed lost that Abby didn't know who to talk to about her dreams. So she kept them to herself. She adjusted her glasses and followed her father and brother to the horseless carriages waiting to take them back to Hogwarts.

Her dorm mates were at least more sympathetic to her now. In fact, Jeremy and Al gave her this giant stuffed kneazle, expressing their sympathy for her loss. Later, they sat down in the common room to give her the assignments that she missed for the last two weeks.

"You didn't miss too much since both your father and your uncle were not here." Jeremy explained. "And although the Headmaster taught Defense, no one was around to teach Potions."

"Yes, but even then, Professor Snape was so distracted that he couldn't concentrate on our class. Do you know why, Abby?" Al asked her.

Abby shrugged "I'm not sure, but he was rather close to my mum. Mum used to say he saved her life once but I don't know when. I bet my sister Sarah knows, I'll owl her later." Her two friends nodded, both curious about Abby's mum and her strange effect on the Headmaster. Abby was eager too, for stories were all she had left of her mum.

Stories were all Robbie had left of her, but that was not enough. He needed her alive and in the flesh, telling him her stories. He remembered his conversation with Sarah before Father brought that Woman into their house. He needed to get to the restricted section in the library. He would work on that later but for now, he needed to reassure his friends that he was okay. Maybe he could even recruit them into his cause. No, that wouldn't work, they wouldn't understand, they still had their mums. So he bided his time and followed Abby into the Gryffindor Common room.

Nicole was waiting for him by the Gryffindor Table the next morning. He looked at her questionably before she spoke. "I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted at your house last week." She paused and looked down at her hands shyly, "I was wondering if you still wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend."

Robbie stared at her, unsure of what to say. This was totally unexpected. From her reaction at the funeral, he thought they were over. Now, here standing in front of him, she still wanted to go out with him, he replied "Okay, but I've fallen a bit behind in my studies and could use some help tonight, if that's alright with you?"

She nodded and started to turn away, but instead, stopped and leaned over and planted a kiss on lips. Robbie was going to let it go, but his hormones got the best of him and he put his hands around her head, pulled her towards him and kissed her right back. His mates were making cat calls and hoots around him. He could have stayed kissing Nicole all morning except for the sarcastic voice that interrupted him.

"Mr. Potter, Miss LeStran, and need I remind you that this is the dining hall, not the Astronomy tower. If you insist on continuing this outburst of passion, I will be forced to take House points." It was the Headmaster, Professor Snape.

The couple reluctantly broke off their kiss. "Sorry Professor Snape, it won't happen again." Robbie said. Then to Nicole "See you at seven tonight in the library?"

Nicole nodded and stumbled back to her House table, glancing back at Robbie the whole time. Robbie, still a bit dazed from the kiss, dropped his fork on the floor. Art bent over picked it up and gave it to him, exclaiming "Rob, mate that was some kiss!" Robbie nodded and looked down the table in time to see his little sister turn her head away in embarrassment.

Ron noticed this too, "Best look to the Pip. She looks a bit put out if you ask me. To tell the truth, we had thought you had broken up with Nic, leastways that is what Natalie told us when they got back from your place after the funeral."

Robbie shrugged. "I guess I'm still hooked on her." He glanced down the table again toward his sister. She was still trying to ignore him. Robbie sighed, picked up a piece of toast and walked down to where she was sitting and sat down next to her. "What's wrong, Pip?"

"Nothing, loverboy, except the girl you left at the house in tears is the same girl you are now snogging again. Oh, and the PDA's are so disgusting." Abby replied with a snort. Robbie laughed and Abby smiled, looking up at her brother asked "Is that the first time…?" She left unsaid the painful portion of the question.

Robbie nodded, "Yeah, I think it is. It feels rather strange." It also left him confused. He should still be hurting from his loss, yet how without his mum being there? Yet life kept on going, tugging at him, forcing him to deal with his grief and move on. He sat back down at the end of the table next to Ron and Art. He finished his breakfast quietly, listening to their conversations, quips and gossip, wondering when he will begin to feel whole again.

Harry wondered when he would feel whole again. He felt a pang of jealousy earlier this morning when he watched Robbie and Nicole kissing at breakfast. But that wasn't right, he should feel glad that his son could find any kind of happiness at all; perhaps it would even derail Robbie's thoughts about resurrecting his mother. Yet all he felt was emptiness and a bitterness that was hard to set aside. Harry's classes resumed as normal, catching up on what his students learned in his absence, pushing the Fifth years and Seventh years to ready themselves for their O.W.L's and NEWT's respectively. But instead of the spark that he usually got from teaching, worry crowded his thoughts. Worry over the twins and the adjustment to the nanny, worry over his two older children and their anger over their loss and last of all, worry over Abigail, she had been too quiet as of late. He had always had Buffy to quell his worries in the past, now there was no one. He sighed and finished cleaning up the classroom. He was about to start grading some essays when a knock on the door interrupted him. It was one of his Third year Ravenclaws, Laurie Stanton. "Can I help you Miss Stanton?"

She hesitated for a second and then nodded. "Yes, Professor, do you remember when we were talking about Vampire Slayers?"

Harry remembered it was right before Easter Holiday. "Yes, I remember, why?"

He looked her over; she was about medium height for her age, a little on the skinny side, just now showing the signs of development. "Do you think you have been called?" He asked her with worry.

She nodded shyly.

"Have you been having strange dreams? Has your strength suddenly gone off the charts? Has your hearing become more acute, your reflexes sharper?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "No, but I remember reading that girls were called around age fourteen or fifteen and I just turned fourteen and I seem to see a lot of strange things and…"

Harry put two fingers to her lips to quiet the girl, who was obviously upset about the situation. "Please Laura, calm down. If you have been called, these things I mentioned, the strength, the hearing, the reflexes, would show through. I need to ask you one last question, though, to determine if you still might have potential to become a slayer. It's a rather personal question."

"It's alright, Professor, you can ask." Laurie replied.

"Have you started your cycles yet?"

The girl reddened and shook her head. "My mother says that I'm just a late bloomer."

"That's alright Miss Stanton. I tell you what I will do. I will contact a representative of the Council of Watchers and ask them to test you for potentiality. It's not foolproof, only after the onset of menses can we be totally sure. But it might put your mind at rest. Is that okay?"

The girl nodded. "Thanks Professor." While running out she almost bowled over another student who was standing in the doorway.

"How long have you waiting, Miss McKinnon?" Harry asked the other girl.

"Not long sir, just long enough to hear your explanation to Laura." Natalie McKinnon replied.

Harry waited for her to continue. She hesitated, and then plunged "I wanted to talk to you about becoming a watcher."

"Did you miss them on Career Day? Or were you interested in something else at that time?" Harry asked.

"I was thinking of something else before, but that was before, well everything."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Did Robert set you up?"

"No. He doesn't even know I'm here."

"I imagine that is because he only has eyes for Miss LeStran."

Natalie blushed and shook her head, "That's not what I mean. I was at the funeral and I saw all those girls. I know what they are and I know what Mrs. Potter was."

"So are you doing this out of pity?"

"No! Not pity, but respect. I want to do something with my life and if I can help keep just 1 girl alive, then that's what I want to do." Natalie replied.

"Being a Watcher is a difficult job. Are you sure you are up to it? It's more than just understanding magic and weapons. You will need to continue your schooling at a muggle University. I would recommend Oxford or Cambridge. You need to study martial arts and fencing, all at a rather accelerated pace."

Natalie nodded, "I can do those things. I've been taking fencing since Second year and mum had us all in martial arts since Primary. Although, getting into a muggle university might be a bit difficult to place since I haven't kept up with my non-magical skills."

Harry shook his head, "Don't worry about that, my dear, if you have enough OWLs with either E or O, the Council can pull some strings for you when the time comes. But there is one thing that schooling cannot prepare you for and that is the death of your slayer."

Harry reached out behind him and pulled down a slim volume and gave it to the girl. "Buffy may have changed the rules, but the fact remains that Slayers die young. This is a Slayer's diary. It records her dreams, hopes and fights. I believe there might also be a prophecy involved."

She took the book greedily from his hands and thanked him.

"If you still want to continue to become a Watcher after reading the diary, let me know and I will contact the Council and set up an interview." Harry said to the girl as she left his office.

"Thanks Professor Potter, you're the best." She shot back as she crossed the threshold. Harry smiled as she left and thought about his two visitors. One wanted reassurance, the other a life goal. Harry liked to think he helped both girls. Soon he began to worry about his children again, but for different reasons. What if the Powers had plans for them? At least Sarah and Robert were clear, Sarah being too old and Robert being a boy, so no becoming the Slayer for either of them. But the Powers worked in other ways and being the children of two very powerful people, Harry doubted their lives would either be their own or normal. It was the younger three, though, that scared him the most. Abigail was close to the age that Slayers began to be called, and the twins… Well he really didn't know what to think of the twins. Their dreams bordered on the fantastic and of course their whole existence is magical. Harry shuddered to think of the future of his babies and tried to banish the thought from his head. No, the Powers would not get his babies. He would make sure of that. He just needed to contact Willow to make sure.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Home- is where I want to be Chapter 9 – Home- is where I want to be

"But I guess I'm already there." -Talking Heads.

Padma was a bit scared watching the twins train with the younger slayers. What was Harry thinking when he allowed the girls to train with these killers? She was worried that they might accidentally hurt the twins; after all they were only little girls. Although, watching the twins, she noticed that they kept up pretty well despite their age and size. Padma wondered if Harry's other children were as agile as the twins. She remembered reading that the two eldest were accomplished Quidditch players at Hogwarts, but Quidditch skills didn't necessarily translate into agility and athleticism. Especially at the skill level the twins were showing. She was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of the doorbell. She rose from her chair to answer the door; the twins stopped their routine and looked at her. She smiled at them and said "Go on, continue with your training. I'll come back."

The twins looked back at their trainers, who nodded. They both looked a bit weary whenever either Harry or she left the room. It was as if they expected them not to return. It made Padma's heart break every time she saw that look. "Really, I will be right back."

Resigned the girls resumed their training routine.

The doorbell rang again, Padma chuffed in exasperation and thought whoever it was, they where rather impatient She made her way to the front door just as it rang for a third time. She opened the door, prepared to tell off whoever was there, but was surprised by the visitor. It was her sister, Parvati. She slumped back down.

"Come to gloat?" She asked her sister.

"Gloat? About what?" Parvati replied.

"About the mess I made my life." Padma said quietly.

Parvati gave her a hurt look. "I did not come to gloat. Support, yes. Gloat no."

Padma sighed. "Alright, did you really want to talk to me?"

"Yes. I was a bit worried about you, especially after you left Terry. So I consulted the cards and they told me that today would be a good day to visit." Parvati explained.

Padma rolled her eyes and stepped back from the threshold to allow Parvati entrance to the house. Parvati entered and gave her a curious look.

"Why didn't you invite me in?"

"House rules, no oral invites at the door." Padma explained to her sister.

Her sister shook her head, not really understanding and followed Padma into the house.

"You're in luck; the twins are in middle of their exercise routine, so I have a few extra minutes. But first, I need to tell them where I will be. Why don't you come along, I'll introduce them to you."

"Alright, then, lead on, Super nanny." Parvati said with a smirk, which earned her a smack on the arm and a giggle from her sister. She followed Padma through the house and into the exercise room where she observed two little girls finishing up their marshal arts routine amidst a half dozen young teenage girls, being led by a young woman in her late teens or early twenties. Parvati was surprised by how intent the two little girls were in completing their routine; at their age the only thing she cared about were stuffed toys and tea parties with her sister. Still, the instructor noticed Padma and her and called the routine to a halt. The two little girls stopped their motions and looked over to where Padma and Parvati where standing.

"Look, Eleanor, Nanny Padma has twin sister too!" Emily exclaimed, grabbing her sister's hand and pulling her towards their nanny and the visitor. Her sister wasn't as enthused at meeting the new person. She really like Nanny Padma, but was unsure about this new adult. She looked back at their trainer, who just shrugged in ignorance. So no help from that quarter, she would just have to face this new adult, just not as enthusiastically as her younger sister. Perhaps, though, this new twin could help solve the mystery that had been plaguing Emily and her for ages. Not bothering to consult her sister, she just blurted out the question that was on her mind.

"Do your dreams always come true too?" There, she said it. Now she just had to wait to see the reaction. But she was disappointed. This new adult just smiled and shook her head.

"Why would you think that, sweetie?" Nanny Padma's twin asked her.

"Well, because you're a twin and Nanny Padma's a twin, just like us and our dreams almost always come true, so I just thought…" She let the sentence trail as she looked down, disheartened by the answer.

But instead of pity or laughter, Nanny Padma's twin looked at the pair of them thoughtfully, as if trying to figure out a puzzle. Finally she spoke, "That is an unusual gift that you have. Have you told your father about it?"

Eleanor looked at her sister, who shrugged, then back at Nanny Padma's twin. "We've tried, but he doesn't really believe us."

Nanny Padma's sister nodded in understanding. "I seem to be at loss here. Who is who?"

Emily smiled at her sister, it would be alright now. An adult who would take them seriously until mum returned. Eleanor nodded in understanding and introduced themselves to Nanny Padma's twin.

"I'm Eleanor and I'm the oldest. This is Emily and she's the baby." This got a poke from her sister who very much objected to being called the baby.

The woman across from them smiled and said, "That's okay, sweetie, I'm Parvati and I'm the baby too. And your slightly older sib never really lets you forget it."

Both girls giggled at that and the atmosphere eased a bit. Padma cleared her throat, "Um, girls, after you shower, would you be alright if I left you alone in the game room for awhile? I haven't seen my sister in ages and I need to talk to her about some adult things."

The girls shrugged, then turned to each other and smiled "Game Room, yeah."

Padma and Parvati watched as the girls took off toward the changing room to shower and change. Padma then retreated with her sister to the kitchen. "Would you like some tea?" She asked Parvati.

"Sure, I would love a good cuppa. " Parvati replied. Parvati watched her sister in awe as she walked over to the cupboard and pulled down two cups and a tea packet, proceeding to make tea the muggle way. First scooping two teaspoons of tea into the smaller pot, then filling the larger kettle with water and setting it on the stove. After lighting the stove, she sat back down at the table where Parvati was sitting. "When did you learn how to make tea the muggle way?" She asked Padma.

"Back when I first started working for Harry, about a month ago. Apparently his wife was a bit skittish around magic, so Harry made the kitchen a magic free zone for her. So when the first tea time came around, I was a bit lost in here. Harry came in and showed me how they make tea. I learned this whole ceremony that they do in Japan that the twins just love. They make me go through it at least once a week." Padma replied with a reminiscent smile.

"Two months ago, you wouldn't have though twice about using your wand in the kitchen." Parvati remarked.

"Two months ago, Terry would have hit me for messing up the carpet or some such excuse." Padma said pointedly.

Parvati stared at her sister. This was the first time she ever admitted that Terry hit her. Not once in all the years Padma was married to Terry did she ever admit that Terry was wrong. She pointed that out to her sister.

"Well, Narcissa taught me a thing or two about sticking up for myself. I – I still don't feel 100 about all that but I'm trying."

"Good. I'm glad somebody talked some sense into you. Merlin knows you wouldn't listen to me or Dean." Parvati exclaimed.

"Sorry Parv, I was really in a bad place back then. But I'm getting better. Harry treats me well and the girls have, at least, accepted me. And the library here is fantastic! Parv, I've never seen so many books before. Harry has more books than Hogwarts. It's funny, really, I never though of Harry as a reader. That was always Hermione's thing."

Parvati snorted "Where do you think he learned all those Defense spells he taught us Fifth year? Part of the collection is from the Black house, stuff his godfather gave him before and after he died."

"Yes, but what about all the Demonologies, Rare book, prophecies and Wicca spells? Not to mention all the books written in ancient languages."

Parvati shrugged "What about Buffy? Could some of those books have been hers?

Padma wrinkled her nose. "I don't know. I always assumed she was a bit of ditz when I used to see her at parties and Ministry functions." Before she could continue, the kettle started to whistle, indicating the water had begun to boil. "Er, I'll just be a minute to fix the tea." She rose from her seat to rescue the kettle from the stove.

Parvati watched with curiosity as her sister seemed more at home in this strange house than in the house she spent with her husband. Parvati also noticed the lack of bruises on her sister's arms and face, confirming her worst fears about Terry. Though she did rather suspect it, but when she confronted Padma she usually denied it or came up with some lame excuse to cover up for him. Now, her sister seemed generally happy and that was always a good thing in Parvati's book.

Padma returned with two steaming cups of tea, placing one in front of Parvati and the other in front of herself. "Cream or sugar?"

"Sugar, please. Two lumps."

Padma nodded and dropped two lumps in Parvati's cup and then added some cream to her own cup. "So where were we?"

"We were talking about Buffy." Parvati replied. "You were telling me that you used to think her a bit of a ditz."

"That's right. I did think her a bit of ditz. She always seemed so flighty at all those parties that we used to attend. But that was before I started working for Harry."

"And now?" Parvati asked.

"Now? I don't really know. Harry never talks about her. But the twins never stop talking about her. They really do adore her. Sometimes I think they expect her to show up. Then there are the slayers. The stories they tell about her make her out to be a superhero."

Parvati looked at her in confusion "Slayers? Did you say slayers? I thought there was only suppose to be one. That is if I remember my DADA lessons from third year correctly."

Padma laughed "That's a first, you remembering your school lessons."

That brought a disgruntled "Hey" from her sister.

"Sorry, Parv, just too easy a target, though it was right when we learned it. According to Narcissa, Buffy and her friends changed everything right around the time that Harry met Buffy."

"So the Boy Wonder is responsible for that state of affairs too?" Parvati interrupted.

"No, according to Harry, he was already gone before that happened. It happened right around the time that town in California, Sunnydale, collapsed into the earth." Padma explained. She looked up at the clock on the wall and jumped up from her chair. "I didn't realize it had gotten so late. Harry will be home soon and I have to make sure that the girls are ready for dinner."

"You make dinner too?" Parvati asked, looking around the kitchen for signs of meal prep.

"No. Harry's house elf makes dinner, just not up here. Here is for lunch, tea and snacks. Buffy may not have been comfortable with humans doing magic, but she didn't seem to have a problem with house elves. Something about magical creatures sticking together."

Padma said. "Are you staying for dinner?"

Parvati shook her head, "No, not today, even though I haven't seen Harry since the funeral, but I need to get back to my own family." She rose from her chair and made to leave. She leaned over and hugged her sister goodbye, then headed toward the door. She really was intrigued by the whole domestic thing that her sister had going on and wondered if it extended through dinner. She realized as she exited the house though, that she failed to ask about the twin's gift of vision. Perhaps she'll just address it in an owl.

Padma watched as her sister left then quickly ran up the stairs to search for the twins. She hoped that they were ready for dinner, as they were a bit too quiet for her sake. She peered into the music room, but they were not there. The next stop was the game room, no little girls there either. Padma was starting to worry, she made her way back down to the exercise room, but that only held slayers. She asked them if they had seen the girls since their exercise ended, but they hadn't. Exasperated, with a nagging fear that something had happened to the girls, she made her way to the large master bathroom just outside of Harry's bedroom. She opened the door and water flooded out. Sitting in the bathtub were the two girls, who looked at Padma, then at each other, saying "It's her fault." Padma, stifling a giggle, looked the girls over to make sure they were okay. The she took out her wand and with a few swish and flicks movements, the bathroom and the hallway were back to normal. Then she turned to the girls "Get dressed quickly, we will deal with this when your father gets home."

The girls cast their eyes downward, muttered an apology, dried off and scampered out of the room, wearing just their towels. Padma shook her head. She had already fallen for the girls, the whole domestic scene and maybe even, just a little, for Harry too.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10- "I had too much to dream last night"

Chapter 10- "I had too much to dream last night"

Song title from The Electric Prunes. All rights to Harry Potter and Buffy belong to other people than me. I own nothing but the children, who are figments of my imagination.

It was the ugliest monster she had ever seen, not that she had seen many monsters, but this was the ugliest. Blood was dripping from his mouth and claws and he was fast approaching her. She needed her sister, so she thought out to her but received no response. She started to panic, her sister never failed to respond to her call. She called out again, still nothing. She decided to run past the monster rather than away from it. It wouldn't expect that. Then maybe she could get away to find her sister and get some help to kill the monster. She rushed forward taking the beast unprepared and made her way past it. Now if she could just find her sister, then everything would be okay. She was running hard now and stitch started in her side. She ignored it and kept running until she saw something small lying on the ground in front of her. As she drew closer, she recognized the shape. It was her sister. No movement was coming from her and she was covered in blood. Emily screamed until she felt someone shaking her and calling out her name.

"Em, you need to stop screaming. You'll wake Daddy"

Emily shot up from her bed and grabbed onto her sister hugging her hard. "Oh, Ellie, you're alive."

Eleanor looked at her funny. "Of course I'm alive, you silly goose. Why wouldn't I be alive?"

Emily let go of her sister and shrank back into her bed. "I had the most awful nightmare. Did you have it too?" She asked cautiously, knowing if her sister did, it would come true.

Eleanor shook her head. "No, I was dreaming of riding ponies and begging Daddy to get us one."

Emily sighed in relief, just a regular nightmare then. "Right, sorry to wake you Ellie. It was really, really bad and scary."

Eleanor nodded and yawned. She understood her twin's dilemma. If the dream was shared, it made it real. If not, then just normal stuff that normal people usually dreamed about. "Night, Emily."

Emily let her sister go back to sleep, ashamed to have waken her but still too shaken up to fall back to sleep. She watched the shadows play across the walls of their room, tensing as an unusually large one crossed in front of her bed. She then heard a low meow and relaxed. It was just Sarah's cat, Nostrodamus. She sighed, crawled out of bed, threw on her robe and went to find her father. She was never going to get any sleep in her own bed tonight. She approached his bedroom carefully, not wanting to disturb the rest of the occupants of the house, and found him awake in the room, sitting at the desk correcting papers. "Daddy?" She asked tentatively.

He turned toward the entrance of the bedroom and spotted her. "Yes Sweetheart?"

"I had a really bad nightmare and now I can't fall back to sleep." Emily explained.

He rose from his chair and swept her up into a hug. It made her feel so much better to be in her father's arms. She started to cry from the pent up emotions that came from her nightmare. She explained the dream to him in fits and sobs as he held her even tighter, rubbing small circles on her back until her crying stopped and her breathing evened out until Harry was sure she was asleep again. He tucked her into his bed and let out huge yawn himself. He got ready for bed and soon was asleep in own bed with his young daughter curled up next to him.

The next morning brought a whirl of excitement to the house. Padma went in to wake the twins and found a bed empty. Panicking, she let out yelp, waking the girl in the other bed.

"Morning Nanny Padma, what's wrong?" Eleanor asked her.

"Your sister is missing." Padma replied.

Eleanor yawned and looked over to the empty bed and remembered. "Oh, Em just had a bad dream. She's probably with Daddy."

Padma looked scared remembering the conversation from yesterday. Eleanor noticed her expression and shook her head. "No worries, Nanny Padma. It was just a regular nightmare. I didn't have the same dream."

Padma shook her head confused, "Right then, time to get ready for school. I'll have breakfast and your books waiting for you downstairs. Don't forget you have football practice today after school." The young girl nodded and scurried off toward the bathroom to get ready for school.

Padma exited the room and ran right into Harry. She blushed and looked away, then asked him "Why are you still upstairs? You're usually down in the kitchen reading the Daily Prophet and drinking tea."

Harry nodded "Usually, but not today. I'm working on increasing the wards around the twins' room and the house in general."

Padma looked puzzled, "Is this due to Emily's dream last night? I thought Eleanor said it was just a normal nightmare, nothing to worry about."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Since when is Eleanor in charge of security around this house?"

"Sorry, Harry, I just thought that if the dream was just a dream, then the girls aren't in anymore danger than they would usually be in." Padma explained.

"Oh, right. Sorry Padma. I'll just go get ready for school then." He said sheepishly, turned and walked back to his room.

Padma shook her head and wondered if this day would get any stranger. After finally getting the girls off to school and Harry back to Hogwarts, she sat down in the kitchen and poured herself a cup of tea. She picked up the paper off the table and started to read it. She must have drifted off because the next thing she heard was the sound of the doorbell ringing. She rose from her chair and looked up at the clock, it was almost noon. She wondered where the morning went to as she walked through the house towards the front door. The doorbell rang again and Padma felt like déjà vu. She yelled that she was coming and muttered dark things about her sister, who she knew was on the other side of the door. She opened the door and saw her sister standing there with a worried expression on her face. "What now, dear sister?"

"Padma, are you alright?" Her sister asked

"Why wouldn't I be alright?"

"Can I come in? I feel better explaining this over a cup of tea." Parvati replied.

Padma sighed and allowed her sister silent entrance to the house. "You're lucky I was just about to go out for a bit of lunch. Now I'll just have Dobby make us something. You can explain your reasons for being here over lunch."

Parvati was relieved that Padma was going to stay indoors. Whatever danger that might befall her would have probably happened outside. In this house, at least her sister was safe. She watched Padma talk to Harry's house elf to order lunch and settled herself in one of the chairs in the kitchen, waiting for lunch.

After lunch, Padma broached the subject of her sister's appearance again. "Tell me again. Why are you here?"

Parvati sighed, "I read it in the cards that you would be in mortal danger today. So I had to come by to see if make sure you were ok."

Padma let out a yawn, quickly covered it and smiled softly at her sister. "I am glad that you care."

Parvati studied her sister closely. She looked tired and worn out in a way she didn't look the day before. "Is everything alright? You're not in mortal danger are you? Harry didn't wake up and decide you were a dark wizard out to harm his children, did he?"

Padma shook her head, "No, nothing like that at all. One of the girls, Emily, had a really bad nightmare last night. To be honest, her scream wasn't what kept me up, but the cat, who kept on nudging me with his head. I didn't even check up on the girl. I felt awful when I went to wake her and she wasn't in her bed. I really feared the worse."

Parvati reached across the table and held her sister's hands. "Padma, you mustn't think you did anything wrong. You are only the nanny, not their mother or father. Still it all goes back to Buffy. That woman apparently lived for monsters. It's a wonder all of the children don't suffer from night terrors." Thinking to change the subject and lift her sister's spirits, she added "Did I ever tell you how I first met her?"

"You mean Buffy? No, you didn't tell me."

"It was just after the engagement was announced in the Daily Prophet. She was pushing her baby in a pram, ogling the shops on Diagon Alley, when that cow Parkinson tried to attack her. I saw her raise her wand and quickly stunned her. Needless to say, Buffy was grateful." Parvati explained.

"Really, Parkinson, did you say? That's ironic, considering that the Harry's boy, Robert, is dating her daughter." Padma said.

Parvati laughed, "Is that so? Does Harry know?"

Padma shook her head "No, he hasn't a clue, or at least he hasn't let on. He did tell me that Robert snogged in front of the entire school in the Great Hall."

"Did Snape take points?" Parvati asked.

"Oddly enough, no. Harry seemed to feel that because the girl is from Slytherin, he was rather loath to take points from his old house." Padma explained.

Parvati sneered "Old hypocrite. He didn't hesitate to take points back when we were in school when he caught Neville and Ginny snogging."

Just then, their quiet conversation was interrupted by the shriek of an alarm and the noise of very loud and profane swearing. Both women quickly rose to their feet, wands drawn and to the ready and moved in unison toward the front door. They were greeted by the sight of a woman, a few years younger than themselves, with dark hair and deep blue eyes swearing up a storm in the hallway. The woman looked up and noticed Padma and Parvati staring at her and swore "Shit! There are two of you. Giles never said there were two of you." She shook her head to clear it. "Which one of you is the Nanny? Never mind, it doesn't matter, we need to get to the school, pronto. B's kids are in danger."

Padma and Parvati looked at the woman with skepticism, wands still pointed at her. Padma finally asked "How do you know this and who are you?"

"Didn't Giles tell you?" The woman sighed. "Fuck. Judging by your faces and the way you're pointing those sticks at me, I guess not. As to how I know that the girls are in danger, I had a dream. As for who I am, here catch." She tossed a small object with deadly accuracy at Padma. She had to drop her wand to catch it with both hands. She looked at it curiously. It was a mobile.

"Buzz Giles, he'll clue you in." The woman told her.

Padma stared at it in puzzlement, trying to remember how to work the thing. An exasperated sigh came from the woman. She quickly walked over to Padma, grabbed the mobile, jabbed a button, waited a second then started to talk.

"Giles, Faith here. Tell Mary Poppins who I am and that B's kids are in danger." She shoved the phone back into Padma's hands and waited.

"He-Hello, Mr. Giles?" She asked hesitantly.

"Ms. Patil, I see Faith has found you. Good. I need you to listen carefully. Go directly to the twins' school and bring them home straight away. What is the spell you use for teleporting again?"

"Apparition?" Padma replied.

"Yes, that's it. You need to apparate with them back to the house." Mr. Giles explained.

"Why? We never do that and actually it is rather dangerous." Padma asked

"The dangers from apparition are less than the dangers that the girls will face if they are attacked by the demons from Faith's dreams."

"Why are Faith's dreams important? Emily had dreams last night and we all discounted them. Why are Faith's dreams different?" Padma laughed then. "You're joking right, just a little prank to play on the Nanny?" But there was no laughter on the other end.

"I assure you Miss Patil, this is no joke. Faith's dreams are relevant because she is a Slayer. Slayers often have prophetic dreams that warn them of attacks. In my experience, I heed what dreams this woman has. Now please hurry, time is of the essence." Silence followed, indicating that Mr. Giles had hung up.

Padma shook her head in disbelief, who would want to attack two little girls? This was all strange to her. She tossed the phone back to Faith. "So apparently I'm supposed to believe you. The girls don't get out of school for another hour."

Faith, grinning like a madwoman, replied "We load up with weapons and head out. We should be waiting for the girls when they get out of school. Oh and we'll have company too."

"Weapons? What kind of weapons?" Padma asked.

"Swords, knives – sharp pointy things." Faith replied. When both twins stared at her in confusion, she sighed. "You don't think those little sticks of you have will do any damage?"

The sisters looked at each other, shrugged and followed Faith to the exercise room, where they watched her as she opened up the weapons cabinet on the wall. Padma started to object. "Aren't those Harry's?"

Faith snorted "Did you ever see Harry pick up an axe or a long sword? These are all B's and she gave me full access." Faith stopped for a minute and stared the wall. "That's odd."

"What?" Padma asked.

"The scythe is missing. I know they never found B's body, but Red should have been able to find scythe with her mojo." Faith replied.

Now Padma was confused. "Who is Red and what did a missing weapon have to do with Buffy?"

"Red is Willow and the missing weapon, lets just say that it's tied to B." Faith explained.

"Does that mean that Buffy's not dead?" Padma asked fearfully. "And if she's not dead, where is she?"

Faith shrugged. "Don't know. For all I know, B could still be dead. But chances are it's just the PTB's playing with her again."

The sisters shuddered at the thought that any one's life could be just a play thing for the gods. "So what now?" Parvati asked. "Do we tell the other and search for her?"

Faith shook her head. "No, tell no one. It's better if they still think she's dead. Hell, for all intents and purposes she probably is dead."

Padma silently agreed. Why give false hope to a family that was just starting to recover from its grief. There was no guarantee that Buffy would return or even could return. She would never do that to Harry. She would not put him through the agony of gaining then losing his wife again. She politely declined the sword offered to her. " I don't know how to use one." But she was surprised when Parvati took one.

"I had lessons." Was all Parvati said.

Faith gave her a sword and chose various weapons for herself. Sufficiently armed, she looked at the two witches and asked "How are the three of us getting to the school?"

Padma smiled, finally something she could do. She pulled out an old teacup and said "Portkey."

Faith stared at the teacup. "How is that going to get me anywhere?"

"By magic!" She replied still smiling. She took out her wand, tapped the cup and pronounced the word "Portus". Then turning to Faith, she said "Now, grab hold of the edge of the teacup and don't let go. Sister, why don't you take the other end"

Parvati nodded, but then noticed something. "This portkey is only big enough for two, how are you getting there?"

"I will apparate after I lock up the house. Now on the count of three: one, two, three." As she spoke the last word, the two women in front of her disappeared from view. Padma collected herself, walked out the door, locking it behind her. After walking past the apparition barrier, checked her surroundings and with a quiet pop followed them by Apparating to the school. She reappeared a half a block from the school in an alley nearby. Parvati and Faith were close by, dusting themselves off and turning to face Padma. Padma took a moment to look over the two women. Faith had a look of a hunter, searching the area, looking for her prey. Her sister, Parvati, was showing her Gryffindor courage, standing with her sword at the ready. Padma sighed approached the school area, waiting for charges to appear and hoping nothing strange or unusual appeared. There was nothing, just a few of the mums of the other kids that she had seen before. Though, there were a couple of the girls that had been at the house a few days before. Were they here to protect the girls too? Did they have the same dream? She turned to Faith, who was following behind her.

"Are you the only one with vision thing?" Padma asked her.

"No. I did say we would have company. I just didn't know who."

Padma nodded to the other girls and waited for school to let out. Time seemed to pass slowly, finally a bell was heard and two small bundles of chattering energy came bounding towards her. They were excited to see her and were eager to tell her about their day.

"We learned loads of stuff today, Nanny Padma." Emily said while grabbing Padma's hand.

"Yeah, loads of …" Eleanor stopped when she noticed the person standing behind Padma. "Em, look, it's Auntie Faith!"

Emily dropped Padma's hand and rushed with her sister to envelope their Auntie Faith in a hug. Faith grinned and hugged the two little girls back.

"Hey munchkins, great to see you two again."

Emily then noticed Nanny Padma's twin and looked back to Nanny Padma "Are we having a tea party?"

Padma hesitated, unsure of what to say and not wishing to frighten the two little girls, replied "Perhaps. We shall see when we get home. Shall we leave now?"

The two girls nodded, each grasping one of Padma's hands, followed her out of the school grounds. It really was a beautiful spring day in London. The sun was shining bright, warming the air around them. Songbirds flitting from tree to tree with their trills and tweets, making Padma relax. She shook her head, monsters, really. Who would want to hurt two little girls? She decided right then and there to walk home with the girls. It was only a half mile from the school to the house, Padma seriously doubted anything could happen to the girls in that time.

But she was wrong. Just as they turned the corner from the school, two rather large creatures, gray in color with a jewel protruding from their foreheads and wielding very sharp swords, descended upon them. The twins screamed in horror, scampering behind Padma, shaking with terror. Padma stood there in shock, clueless as to what to do, not even reaching for her wand. She had never seen anything like this before, luckily for her, Faith shoved her and the twins out of the way before the creatures could attack them. This seemed to give her the impetuous to move. She grabbed the two girls close to her and apparated back to the house. She pulled the twins along with her as she moved quickly into the house, slamming the door behind her and locking it. She then collapsed onto the floor with the two little girls beside her and breathed a sigh of relief.

Except she left her sister back there with those beasts- whatever they were. Panic hit her then. But she can't go back out there and leave the girls alone. She had to think of something else. She was wracking her brain, searching for a clue as to what to due. Then she noticed it. Sitting on the table in the hall was the mobile she used to talk to Mr. Giles before. She leapt towards it, grabbing it off the table and punching the number she remembered Faith punching before they all left for the school. She held the mobile to her ear, listening to the ringing noise and thinking fretfully, answer, answer. After what seemed like forever, a male voice –Mr. Giles, she hoped answered.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Giles?" Not waiting for an answer, she raced on, "You have to help them. It was awful and all my fault. I didn't listen and now and oh…"

"My dear woman, please calm down." Mr. Giles interrupted. "Are the twins there with you?"

"Y-yes, b-but my sister…"

"Is alright. Faith called me a few minutes ago. The demons have been slain and your sister is unharmed. They should be arriving back at the house in a bit."

Padma let out a sigh of relief and regret. Her sister was alright but she failed her charges in a time of crisis. "You must thing I'm awful. You told me and I didn't listen. I-I shall write my resignation and hand it in to Harry today. I put his two little girls in danger, all because I refused to believe."

"You shall do no such thing Miss Patil. The girls are safe aren't they?"

"Yes, but…"

"No buts. It's not as if you grew up with these things. I'm sure if I would have told you an evil magic user was out to get the girls, you would have reacted straight away. Faith and I have a bit of an advantage over you because this is our lives. My ranting must have seemed like that of a madman."

"Well, now that you mention it, it did seem a bit mad. It's just that…"

"I know. Beautiful day, what evil could possibly lurk out there waiting to strike out. Go, look after the girls. I think they might be in need of some comfort now."

Padma nodded and answered, "Yes sir. Goodbye." She closed up the phone, put it back on the table and retreated back into the drawing room where she left the girls. They still had frightened looks on their faces. Padma tried to give them a reassuring smile. "It's alright now girls. Mr. Giles informed me that your Aunt Faith has taken care of the monsters." Relief washed over their faces and their little bodies relaxed. Padma's smile grew broader, "Would you like some hot cocoa? I know it's not too cold out, but I hear that hot cocoa warms the soul." The girls smiled and nodded in unison.

"Right then, back in a few." Padma said as she retreated into the kitchen. She filled the kettle with water and set it to boil. She then reached over to the cabinet and brought down three cups and a tin of cocoa, then dollop out the cocoa into the three cups and waited for the water to boil. She sat down on a chair, blowing a wisp of hair from her face, grateful once again to have survived the day.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 –Paris

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Buffy Summers and the Peabody family are owned by other people, no profit to made from their usage in this story.

A week in Paris, to ease the bite of it, all I care to is to smile in spite of it. – Lush Life by Billy Strayhorn.

She felt that something was different this morning. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew something was different. She stretched lazily and wiped the sleep from her eyes. Glancing at the clock on the table next to her bed and swore. If she didn't hurry she would be late for her first class. She jumped from her bed towards the bathroom to take a quick shower. After her shower, she dressed quickly, casting a simple drying charm on her hair and leaving it to hang loose. She stopped short just before leaving her room, remembering what was different this morning. Her roommate was gone. Apparently she didn't return after the party last night. Sarah snorted; she herself was almost tempted last night by, what was his name again? Oh, yes, Michel. She could have danced all night with him. That was before he opened his mouth, then he turned into a pumpkin. She sighed and hoped Kayla found what she was missing this morning. Sarah then remembered the reason for the party last night: it was her last day of classes. Now she no longer had an excuse to keep her from home. But with mum gone and the twins with that woman, Sarah saw no reason to rush home just yet. Her lease on her apartment went through the end of the week, and perhaps the landlord could be persuaded to extend it. She shook her head, no; she would have to face her demons sooner or later. At least she didn't have to face Robbie right away. She still hadn't found out the spell that brought mum back before. Perhaps, though, she might find out today. She remembered she was to meet and have lunch with her Uncle Xander today.

Her Uncle Xander was in Paris this week doing Watcher reviews and wanted to check on her. He also was supposed to give her some advice on what courses she would need to become a Watcher. She hadn't originally planned on becoming a Watcher, but since Mum's death, she wanted to do something to honor her memory, especially if the whole resurrection idea went south. She figured being a Watcher was one way to do that. She turned back to her room to change out of her sweats and into pretty floral sundress. It wouldn't do to have her Uncle see her dressed as a slob. She then tied up her hair into a neat ponytail and checked herself over in a mirror. Satisfied, she exited her room and proceeded to make herself some breakfast.

Padma hoped again that she would have a peaceful day but she knew from the start that it would not likely happen. The girls were not in their beds but in their father's bed. She knew that they were both still a bit shook up from yesterday's events, but honestly they were getting rather old to be sleeping with their father. Harry didn't seem to mind, in fact he encouraged it.

"When you have a childhood as awful as mine, you grab any and every chance to show love, affection and comfort to your own children. So don't bloody lecture me on what is and what isn't appropriate to comfort my babies." Harry explained to her when she brought it up to him later that morning.

"But it might stunt their emotional growth." She offered.

Harry's eyes flared and Padma backed off, letting him havethe victory. After all, they were his children not hers. She was just charged with raising them. Not that she minded that, it was just sometimes she finds herself becoming attached to them. Continuing with his overprotective behavior, Harry insisted on walking the girls to school this morning, not content to let her walk them by herself. Again, they were his children he had every right.

What surprised Padma was his call to Mr. Giles when he returned. "Why were my girls attacked?" He demanded. Apparently he didn't get an answer he liked, so it was followed by a demand that he, Mr. Giles, bloody well find out. "I won't put my children at risk. I've lost too much already, so find out why and stop it from happening again!" Finally, Padma could see Harry relax his posture, accepting Mr. Giles last answer. He then hung up the phone and turned to Padma. "We will be having guests. Please show them to the library when they arrive. Oh, and if you don't mind maybe you could help them out."

Padma nodded and then asked "Help them with what?"

"Figuring out why my babies were attacked." He turned away from her and left to Floo back to Hogwarts.

The Floo system fired up again, not more than five minutes after Harry left. Padma was all set to argue with her employer again but was surprised by the bushy haired figure that came tumbling out.

He was waiting for her at a little past noon at the Café Six-huit. It was her favorite café in Paris, situated on the bank of the Seine. She went there often, sometimes alone, sometimes with her mum or sometimes even with a friend. It was a great place to sit, sip on some wine and watch the people passing by. This though, was the first time she had been back since Mum died. He rose from his chair and greeted her with a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"How's my favorite niece doing?" Uncle Xander asked her.

Sarah blushed, "Oh Uncle Xander, you say that to all of us."

He shrugged "I know, but it's especially true for you."

Sarah blushed again and they both sat down to look at their menus for lunch. A waiter came by, dropped off two glasses of wine and took their order. When he left, Uncle Xander asked her "So, any new boyfriends I have to threaten with a shovel?"

"Uncle Xander!" Sarah exclaimed, then after a thought frowned. "No, no boyfriends. I've been too busy to think about boys. Besides, the boys around here are only interested in one thing."

Uncle Xander laughed, "You're probably being too hard on them. Not all of them can compare to your favorite Uncle or maybe a certain boy whose name begins with D."

Sarah blushed again. She had to quit doing that, but it seemed her uncle could always tease her into blushing. She sighed. "No, I don't think of David that way at all. He's my best friend, not my boy friend."

Uncle Xander raised an eyebrow "Now where have I heard that excuse before?"

"It's true. He doesn't see me like that either." Sarah protested. Before the discussion could get out of hand, the waiter arrived with their meals. Talk then turned to Uncle Xander's tales of other slayers and watchers. She listened politely, while picking at her food.

"Not hungry? Or am I boring you?" Uncle Xander asked her, noticing her lack of attention to him or her food.

"No Uncle Xander, I haven't had much of an appetite this past month." She replied

Uncle Xander gave her a concerned look. "It has been hard on all of us, Sarah."

Sarah looked up into his eyes. It was now or never. She took a deep breath and quickly blurted out, "Could you tell me…" She faltered; she needed to do this, to ask this question. She promised Robbie she would find out. She needed to find out. She began to start again but was interrupted by Uncle Xander.

"You want to find out how we brought her back, don't you?" He asked.

She looked at him in surprise. "Ho-how did you know?"

"Cause the first thing your Aunt Dawn did when her mother died was to try and bring her back." Sarah looked away. Uncle Xander continued "Look, Sarah, I'm not going to lie to you. Bringing your Mother back that time was a selfish act but if I had to do it again I would. But I can't. I don't even know the spell Willow used. I just had to show up."

Tears started to form in her eyes as she tried to blink them away. Another dead end, how was she going to get her mum back? She was running out of options. "But you were there!"

"Yes I was there, but like I said, I was just a participant. Your Aunt Willow was the one who performed the spell. Anya did get the Urn of Osiris, but it was the last one. Tara probably knew the spell too, but she's also dead. Beside, the only reason we thought we could do the spell was because your mother died a mystical death."

Sarah blinked, trying to process the information just told to her, then started "Who are Tara and Anya?" She didn't remember those names or least she wasn't familiar with them.

Uncle Xander looked at her in astonishment. "Who are Anya and Tara? You have to know who these people are!"

Sarah shook her head. "Sorry. Mum never really talked about them. Should I?"

Uncle Xander growled "Anya was my ex-fiancée; I almost married her for Christ sake!"

Sarah drew back "How was I supposed to know? The only time I would remember one of your ex-girlfriends is when Mum reminded us not bring her up in front of your new girlfriend."

Uncle Xander slumped back down in his chair. "Sorry kiddo, I keep forgetting she died before you were born." He paused and added with a wry grin. "But not before you were conceived."

Sarah blushed. "Uncle Xander! I so don't need to hear this." Then she looked back at him. "So who was Tara?"

"Tara was the second great love of your Aunt Willow. She was murdered a year before you were conceived. That was such an awful year." Sadness flooded Uncle Xander's face as he remembered his lost friends. He shook his head as if to clear it. He reached out across the table and grabbed her hands. "Look, Sarah, I know it's tough for you, your brother and your sisters. I want her back as much you do, but you have to remember what we didn't. That your mom is in heaven now."

Sarah blew out a breath in frustration. That was the same line Aunt Willow told Robbie. Couldn't everyone see how much they were suffering without mum? She blinked away the tears and tried focus again on her lunch. At least now she had something to look up when she returned home: the Urn of Osiris.

Uncle Xander, sensing her unease, decided a change in subject was needed. "Speaking of home, when are you supposed to be heading back home?"

"Tomorrow afternoon actually, I've got my Chunnel pass and everything." Sarah replied.

"Need a hand with the packing?"

Sarah shook her head. "No, David is flying in on Wednesday. We'll do a few touristy things and then he'll help me pack up the rest of my things. We should be home on Friday."

"David, eh, you're sure he's not your boyfriend?"Uncle Xander asked her.

Sarah blushed. "Uncle Xander! David is my best friend not my boy friend. Supposedly he has been seeing a nice Egyptian girl at Cambridge."

"Uh-huh, a friend who come all the way to Paris to help you pack." Uncle Xander teased.

Sarah sputtered. "Why can't I have a best friend who's a boy? You and mummy were just friends and Aunt Hermione was Daddy's best friend. Besides, he all into archaeology and stuff and I'm planning on going into the family business, so to speak."

"Ah, yes, the family business." Uncle Xander repeated doing his best Marlon Brando Godfather impersonation.

Sarah let out a giggle. "Stop it you know perfectly well what I am talking about."

Uncle Xander sighed. "You sure you want to be involved in this stuff? I don't think your mother would have wanted that."

Sarah frowned. "Well my mother is not here. I'm nineteen years old. Old enough I reckon to get involved in the family business. You were only 16 when you got involved."

Uncle Xanderlooked flummoxed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know, but that was different. We were in the middle of the mouth of Hell." He paused and looked at her determined face. "You learned that from your Aunt Willow, didn't you? I never could say no to her resolve face either. How are you at languages?"

Sarah shrugged, "Reasonably well, I know most European languages, a smattering of hieroglyphs and a couple of words in Sumerian."

"Wow. That's almost Dawn-like. Are you sure Buffy was your mom?"

That earned him a slap on the arm and an "Uncle Xander!" reply.

"Just kidding, Sarah. Just brush up on your dead languages over the summer. You might want to follow your friend in his study of Egypt for next semester. Keep up with your martial arts and fencing. That's about it."

She rose from her chair and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and a hug. "Thank you, Uncle Xander. I won't let you down." She returned to her seat and took another sip of her wine. The meal was ending now and she still felt a bit lost. She looked up at him but he seemed to be far away. "Penny for your thoughts, Uncle Xander."

He looked at her, shook his head and smiled. "Just thinking about your mother, kiddo, I know you'll do her proud."

"So are you dropping by sometime this summer?"

He shrugged, "Hard to say. Every time I go there I expect her to be there."

Sarah nodded in understanding. "I feel the same way, but I need to return there for Daddy's sake, and of course the rest of the bunch."

Uncle Xander nodded. As she rose to leave, he got up with her, hugged her and kissed on the cheek goodbye.

He looked down on the two sleeping forms in his bed and smiled. They both wandered in last night complaining about nightmares and not being able to fall asleep. After a few minutes of snuggling in next to him, they seemed to fall asleep quick. He always promised himself that he would be better parent to his own children than the Dursleys were to him. Therefore, he usually indulged his children when they felt the need to be comforted, though he would put his foot down if Robert or Sarah decided to sleep in his bed now. It was morning now and soon he would have to wake them. He knew that this day would be hard on them. However, perhaps not, children seem to recover quickly from terrors that would haunt adults for years. He nudged the on closest to him. "Come on, my little angels, time to get up. You have school this morning."

Eleanor groaned and snuggled up further into the blankets, while her sister swatted her father's hand away. "Five more minutes, Daddy."

Harry chuckled and nudged them again. "I've already given you five more minutes. Any longer and you'll be late for school."

Emily turned over and groaned, "Daddy! I was in the middle of a really good dream."

Harry shook his head and pulled the covers off the slowly awakening girls. "Up now, you don't want me to have to get Nanny Padma, do you?"

The girls shook there head and quickly grabbed their robes and headed toward the bathroom leaving Harry alone in the bedroom. Harry ran a hand through his hair. Those two are going to be more than a handful in a few years. A wave of sorrow passed over him as he remembered the person who should be there to help him. With that, the events of the past day came crashing back into him. 'Why would anyone want to attack the twins?' He thought. A number of reasons came to him, the first being that they were his children. Then, the nature of the attack came from monsters not magic. Did this mean that the secret known to only three other people suddenly become common knowledge? It was not a secret per say, but a change in the fabric of reality. A little something extra from her adventures in time travel 8 years ago. He remembered:

_She reappeared in the library, clutching a bedraggled Abigail close to her and the rush of people coming up to her asking to her health, Abby's health and the health of the babies. 'Babies,' he thought 'when did it become babies? I could have sworn there was only one baby when she disappeared two weeks ago.' He wanted to ask her but she shook her head and mouthed "Later". _

_Late apparently meant later that evening since Susan Bones had to be called to give mother and daughter a complete check over. She pronounced them both as fit as fiddles but ordered both to bed for much needed rest. He cornered her before she left._

"_Did you check Buffy over completely?" He asked._

"_Of course I did Harry. Mother and babies are fine." Susan briskly replied. _

"_And the babies are both human, right?" He pressed._

_Susan looked confused. "Harry what are you getting at?" _

"_Look, my wife disappears for two weeks back into time with one baby and returns with two babies; I have a right to be concerned." Harry replied._

_Susan shook her head. "Harry, Buffy has always been pregnant with twins. I made note of it in my first examination. I told you both at the time. You were standing right next to her at the time. Now here is a prescription for a restorative potion for Abby. She needs to take it twice a day for a week. Be sure to keep up Buffy's prenatal vitamins. I've given her a supplement but she's been well taken care of where ever she went and doesn't really need it."_

_Harry sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair nodded and let her go. He needed to talk to Buffy. _

"_It's magic, dear husband." Buffy explained later that night. "The same type of magic that created Dawn and apparently the same spell of incorporation that monks used to fit everything together."_

_She had explained to him before about Dawn and Glory. "Does that make one of my unborn children a mystical door opener?" Harry asked with concern. It was bad enough that their children were targets for every evil that had delusions of world domination, but this was too much. _

_Buffy shook her head. "No, at least I don't think so. The dream that told me about the twins made it seem like a gift. Kind of a reward for saving a life that should not have been in mortal danger. It doesn't feel wrong or evil. Maybe we should just let it be."_

"_You don't want to research it?" Harry asked._

"_No. I just want it to be our little miracle." Buffy replied._

So they kept a secret telling only Dawn and Narcissa, Dawn because she seemed to already know, and Narcissa because she was the closest thing to a mum for Buffy. Now it seemed as if the secret is to about to be revealed. Maybe the gift had a price after all.

Harry walked his two youngest children to school that morning. It was a cool that morning, with the dew still heavy on the lawns as they passed quietly toward the school, their small hands clasped tightly to his larger one. Though it was uncertain, whose hands were clasped tighter, theirs into his or his to theirs. When they arrived at the school, neither was quick to let go of the other. Harry bent down to kiss each upon their forehead and pulled them each into a hug.

Before letting go of his hand, Eleanor looked up at him and asked, "Are you picking us up from school, too?"

Harry shook his head. "No. Neither is Nanny Padma."

Emily looked at her sister then up at her father. "Why ever not? You're not giving her the sack, are you?"

"No, I am having Nanny Padma do something else. Miss Danata, your Martial Arts instructor will pick you up, along with your Aunt Kenny."

A gleam appeared in the twins eyes at the mention of their Aunt Kenny. Harry noticed it and rolled his eyes. "You are not to paint any small animals. Is that understood?"

"But Daddy, we were little back then. How were we supposed to know not that Sarah's cat didn't want to be a bit brighter colored?" Eleanor replied.

"Right, we're much older now. We would never try to paint Sarah's cat again." Emily added.

"Just the same, try to keep out of mischief when you're with your Aunt. I will see you this evening for dinner. I love you both." He squeezed them tight to him again and dropped a final kiss on the foreheads before letting them scamper into the schoolyard.

Back at the house, he gave Giles a piece of his mind and made sure the resources of the Council were finding out why his babies were attacked. Though to be on the safe side, he did contact Hermione before returning home, just to make sure somebody from his world was there too.

Sarah woke rather late again the next morning. Her roommate was already up and out for the day, so Sarah took her time with a long, hot shower. She had just stepped out the shower, sitting in front of the mirror, brushing out her hair and mumbling to herself that she really should get it cut when she returned home. She was in the middle of her twentieth brushstroke, when she heard the loud crash of somebody knocking over one of the lamps in the living room. She immediately thought it was Kayla, her roommate, coming back from her morning endeavors to return something she borrowed off Sarah. Kayla was a sweet girl but a bit of klutz and very big mooch. "I'm in the bathroom." Sarah called out. "Just put whatever you borrowed on the bed, I'll pick it up later." She resumed her brushing, not wanting to stop now since it was probably just Kayla. Instead of Kayla, a male head poked inside the bathroom. Sarah let out a squeak and quickly pulled up the towel that she had let pool around her waist.

"D-david, what are you doing here?"

A clearly embarrassed David replied "Sorry Sarah-girl" as he pulled his head back from the bathroom door.

Sarah sighed; this was not going to be a good day. "Give me a moment here, David. I'll be right out. You caught me a bit unaware." As soon as she was sure that David was out of the bathroom, she quickly rose from her chair, grabbing the robe that was on the hook next to the shower. Letting the towel drop to the floor, she clenched the robe tightly and tied it off around her waist. She tied up her hair in a sloppy pony tail, slipped on her slippers and went to go find out why David was two days early.

She found him sitting in the sitting room with another boy whom she did not recognize. David was just sitting there, looking a bit lost, while the other boy seemed to be interested in her record collection. She was going to offer David some tea, but seeing the other boy that was with him made her change her mind. Concentrating on David, she asked him "Why are you so early and who's your friend?"

David took one look at Sarah, who was still in her bathrobe, and looked away. "Um, well you see, Sarah, um, well, a family problem came up suddenly and I am needed back at Cornwall tomorrow and …"

"What? You haven't heard of a telephone?" She interrupted. "It's not a girl, I hope?"

"No, Sarah girl, nothing like that at all, it's just family stuff." David replied.

"And your friend here?" Sarah added.

"Oh, right. Sarah, this is Walter Emerson, my cousin." David replied. He poked the boy who was still mesmerized by Sarah's record collection.

"This collection is amazing! I've always had a thing for American jazz but I've only seen the CD's. Are these all originals?" He looked up, chagrined and mumbled. "Sorry, just a bit carried away."

The boy's name disturbed Sarah and she quickly pulled David into her bedroom. She whispered harshly to him "Isn't that the same name as the relative of yours from the past? You know, the one from when we were eleven?"

David sighed, she would have to notice that small little tidbit. David remembered that incident very well. It was during their first Christmas from Hogwarts. His parents were visiting relatives in Egypt at the time and he was staying with the Potters for the Holidays. He was missing his family at the time and Sarah came up with the idea of magically talking to one of his ancestors. It backfired, instead of bringing up a spirit, the charm brought over a live body, a one Walter Emerson, his great-great Uncle. "Yes, but he knows nothing about that incident. He's just my cousin here to help me move my best friend back to England for the summer."

Sarah, satisfied with this explanation, pushed her friend back out to the living room. "Alright, go help pack, and be careful with those records." She dressed quickly into a pair of jeans and t-shirt, drawn out by the dulcet tones of Miles Davis.

She smirked at the boy, Walter, as she emerged from her bedroom. "I see it didn't take you long to find a record you liked."

Walter blushed "Sorry, I saw it sitting on your turntable and I couldn't help myself. Is it the original recording?"

"Yes, it is. It was originally from my Great-Grandfather's collection. He gave it to my mum, who gave it to me to listen to here in Paris." She paused and looked away, letting the music settle over her. "It's funny, Mum used to swear that the only thing that used to calm me down when I was a baby was this album." Other emotions warred with her face, but a wan smile came across.

The trio set about to packing, stopping only to flip the record or change it when the album fully played through. Time seemed to pass quickly and the trio stopped for the day, tired, sweaty and hungry. "I'm beat." Sarah remarked. "I don't think I could pack another box. I certainly can't be bothered to get something to eat."

"Is there a take-away place nearby?" asked David.

"Yeah, there's a menu near the phone, they have fairly decent Chinese and they deliver." Sarah remarked.

"Perfect. I'll order us up some food."

About an hour later, the buzzer for the front door rang. Sarah answered and told the delivery boy to come on up. She paused at the buzzer; something about the tone of the delivery boy's voice was off. It didn't sound like the usual delivery boy. She glanced over to the boys, who were chatting about football in the living room and made a quick decision. "I'm just going to my room to grab a few Euros. Just wait for me, if the delivery boy comes up before I get back." She hurriedly ran into back into her bedroom, snatched up her wand and a stake, hiding both up the sleeves of her shirt. She hoped the boys waited and that the wards against the undead held. She had a bad feeling about the delivery boy.

She was wrong. The delivery boy did just have a cold. She almost embarrassed herself for nothing. The boys stayed until the movers showed up the next day. Both boys were perfect gentlemen, much to her roommate's disappointment, and slept on the foldaway couch in the living room. At least David felt bad about not being able to take her to the Victory Ball and bought her a very pretty necklace from one of the street vendors on the way to the train. She fingered it as she sat in her compartment on the train, pondering her life and things. She finally figured out why her Mum preferred Muggletransportation to Magical. It was the time it allowed one to collect one's thoughts. With Magical transportation, it was poof and you were there. Now, on the train, she had time to collect her thoughts and figure out how she was going to live the rest of her life without her Mum.

She must have fallen asleep, the next thing she knew the porter was waking her to tell her that the train had arrived in London. She thanked him, stretched and checked her cabin to make sure she didn't leave anything behind. She detrained, collected her luggage and set about getting a taxi. Her first stop was to the Todros' household to deliver the letter David had written to his mother. Apparently, he hadn't told her what he was up to either. Mrs. Todros greeted her warmly and offered her some tea. Sarah politely refused, she was anxious to get back home and to see her sisters, though it had only been a few weeks, she missed the munchkins terribly. She strolled up the walkway, a bit anxious to be approaching the house, still feeling the pangs of the loss of her mother, and reached for the door. Before she could enter, two pint-sized tornados talking a mile a minute bowled her over, rambling on about aunts and monsters or was it monster ants?


	12. Chapter 12

Monster Aunts

"In the room women come and go talking of Michelangelo." – The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock, T. S. Eliot

A strong hand gently extracted one of the tornadoes from her arms. Sarah's mind finally pieced together her sister's babble and her eyes grew wide. Apparently she meant she was attacked by monsters and rescued by her Aunts. "Aunt Kenny, what are you doing here?"

"Babysitting." She replied with a smirk.

Sarah raised a worried eyebrow, thinking back to the last time her Aunt Kenny 'babysat', then let out a breath of relief, knowing that her cat was safely ensconced at Hogwarts with Robbie. Which brought about her next question, "If you're babysitting, where is Miss Padma?"

"She's upstairs in the library with Aunt Hermione, Aunt Dawn and Aunt Willow." Came the reply from her sister, Emily, who was pulling on Sarah towards the house. Her other sister, Emma, who was firmly attached to her Aunt Kennedy, nodded in agreement.

Then added "Aunt Faith was here too, but she went off to bake a cake."

A confused look passed over Sarah's face. Her Aunt Kenny took pity on her and explained, "Aunt Faith decided to break a few eggs and beat some batter." Catching the emphasis in her Aunt's response, she nodded and followed her Aunt and sisters into the House.

She had never seen such chaos around books before. Books and scrolls were scattered across various tables, computer printouts littering the floor and strangely enough, an open box of doughnuts. "What is going on here, Hermione?" Padma whispered to her friend. "And who are all these people?"

"It's a research party." Hermione replied.

"Rather inappropriate to have a party when the girls are in mortal danger, don't you think?" Padma shot back.

Hermione frowned. "Well it's not so much of a party, rather a tradition. As for the people, the tall brunette you know already, she's Harry's sister-in-law, Dawn. The redhead is Dr. Rosenberg"

"The girls' Auntie Willow." Padma interrupted, which earned her a glare from her friend.

"I thought you didn't know these people." Hermione stated.

Padma shrugged. "I don't, I just put the information you gave me with some of the babble the girls have been filling my head with since I started this job."

"Oh, right. The rest are just junior Watchers pulled in to help with the research." Hermione replied.

"What exactly are we researching among all these scraps of paper?" She hesitantly asked her friend, worried about the answer she would receive.

"Oh, any prophecy or ritual that happens to mention the Chosen One, the Queen of the Slayers and or her children." Hermione replied in an offhand way, as if the prophecies about the children of her long time friend being in mortal danger were a common occurrence.

Padma, still having a hard time wrapping her head around that idea, chose to focus on the strange title instead. "Queen of the Slayers? Was she really called that?" Once again the picture of the ditzy blonde woman she saw hanging off of Harry's arm at Ministry parties was at odds with the stories she learned about her since becoming Nanny to her children.

"Yes, she was called that, though she didn't like it very much. Don't ask me how she acquired that title because I don't know. I just know that she acquired it some time between the time we found her in Sunnydale and when she reappeared in London, a year and half later with a child in tow. If you want the full story, you'll have to ask either Dawn or Willow."

Padma shook her head, sighed and turned her attention back to the books and parchments in front of her.

There seemed to be a babble fest between the twins. Sarah had forgotten how bubbly and excitable her two youngest sisters were. Eleanor caught hold of her new necklace and asked "Oh, this is new and shiny, where did you get it from?"

"David got it for me in Paris." Sarah answered with an air of nonchalance.

"Ooh, is David your boyfriend now?" Teased Emily.

Sarah blushed. "No, David is not my boyfriend. Why does everyone think that David is my boyfriend?"

"Cause he buys you pretty things." Her Aunt Kenny added with a smirk.

Sarah grimaced in frustration. This was not how she wanted this conversation to be going. She wanted to find out about why the twins were attacked not whether David was her boyfriend. Which he definitely was not, no a proper boyfriend would take her to the Victory Ball, again which David was not. David was too busy running around the Continent with his cousin and Uncle, chasing after Antiquity thieves. Enough about David and her love life or lack thereof, she thought. Before she could snap off a witty retort and redirect the conversation to where she wanted it to go, the doorbell rang. Her Aunt Kenny looked at her watch and swore. "Fudge cakes!" Her two sisters giggled at their Aunt's attempt not to swear. Sarah just looked confused.

"What's the matter, Aunt Kenny? Who would be at the door?" She asked her Aunt.

"Eleanor's piano teacher, it's time for Eleanor's piano lessons." Then her Aunt Kenny looked at her watch again. "Rats, it also time for Emily's cricket practice."

Eleanor's eyes sparkled. "Couldn't we switch? I could go to Cricket and Em could play piano. That would make a wonderful prank."

Sarah laughed, "That would work- for about 1 minute. You're rubbish at cricket and Emily can't carry a tune if her life depended on it."

Emily pouted, "That's not true, I so can carry a tune. And Ellie's much better at cricket now."

"Well for Daddy's sake, please don't switch. Just stick to what you're supposed to be doing. You better get your music, Ellie. Aunt Kenny will help you with your cricket stuff, Em. I'll just get the door." Sarah rose to answer the door, watching with a slight smile as her sisters scrambled to ready for their respective practices. She hoped that this would give her a chance to confront her Aunts and find out what was really going on in the library.

Padma groaned in frustration. She was trying to read this one papyrus scrap that was in front of her. It looked like hieroglyphs, but when she tried to decipher it, she couldn't make heads or tails of it. This didn't make it too much different from the manuscript she was trying to plow through before, that started off with Latin before it devolved into something completely foreign. She had called Hermione over to take a look at that writing and told it was a demonic language. Who knew demons had languages? That was certainly not something that was taught at Hogwarts. She rubbed her forehead to try to stave off the threatening migraine. Just as she was about to delve back into the papyrus, Padma heard the doorbell ring. She glanced at her watch. It was time for Eleanor's piano lesson. She should really be helping her get ready for that, as well as getting Emily geared up for cricket. She pushed herself away from the table. Rising from her chair, she glanced over at three women who were deep in research mode. "I'm taking a bit of a break. I've been pouring over these texts for hours and I can't make heads or tails out of it."

Harry's sister-in-law, Dawn also looked at her watch. "Ooh, piano lessons. Buffy was very insistent that the kids take up some type of musical instrument. She thought it helped to make them more well-rounded individuals. Usually, it just ended up with her and Sarah bickering." She smiled up at Padma. "At least be grateful that it's not violin lessons."

That caused Willow to snort. "I remember. Sarah was so positive that she would become a master violinist at age 9. But that was only after she decided that becoming the next John Coltrane wasn't for her."

Padma looked confused and turned to Hermione "Who's John Coltrane?"

"He was a famous Muggle jazz saxophonist. Sarah was a bit too young for the saxophone. Poor baby was heartbroken when she found out she couldn't play like her hero. Thank goodness Buffy finally introduced to her the piano after her violin dreams crashed and burned."

"Yes, thank our ears too" added Willow. "She did much better on the piano."

Padma felt that as much as she enjoyed listening to these three trade stories and memories about her eldest charge, she really needed to see to her youngest. She rose from her chair, muttered her apologies and left the library. She ran into a frantic Emily, half dressed in her cricket uniform, who was on her way to the library.

"I can't find my cricket glove, Nanny Padma. I've looked everywhere and I'm running very late." Emily cried.

Padma looked the young girl over and noticed how haphazardly her uniform and padding were put on. She stooped down and straightened out the padding and readjusted the buttons on the little girl's uniform. She then gave her a puzzled look and asked "Why are you running late anyway? Didn't you tell your Auntie Kenny what time your practice was?"

"Yes, but Sarah came home and we had to have tea and then we were trying to find out if Sarah has a boyfriend and…"

"Sarah's home?" Padma interrupted.

"Uh-huh."

"B-But she's not due home until Saturday."

Emily rolled her eyes. "We told you she was coming home today." Then she paused, her mouth formed a perfect O. "Oh right, I guess we didn't tell you. Sorry. Anyways, Sarah is home and we…"

Padma put up a hand to silence the girl. If she would let her, the girl could ramble on for several minutes before she ever got a point. "We'll deal with Sarah later. Right now, let's see if we can't find your glove, before you're really late for practice, alright Emily?"

The little girl nodded and grasped the hand held out for her as Padma led her down the stairs to the first floor. They stopped in the middle of the hallway and Padma reached into the pocket of her slacks and pulled out her wand. Giving it a wave, she cried out "Accio Emily's cricket glove." Sure enough, the glove soared past the wide-eyed girl and straight into Padma's outstretched hand. She handed the glove to the little girl. "Here's your glove, dear. Now go find your Auntie Kenny and hurry on to practice."

Emily grabbed the glove from her nanny, leaned up on her tiptoes and gave Padma a kiss and a hug. "Thanks, Nanny Padma, you're the best."

Sarah answered the door and greeted her old piano teacher, Mrs. Feinstein, who was wearing a very confused face.

"Miss Sarah, I thought you away at University." Mrs. Feinstein exclaimed.

"I am, but term ended last week. I'm home for summer holiday." Sarah answered. She stepped aside to allow Mrs. Feinstein entrance into the house. Even though it was broad daylight, one could never be too careful. Her mother had taught her well.

"My condolences on the loss of your mother, my dear child, I still rather expect her to answer the door when I arrive for sister's lesson." Mrs. Feinstein offered.

Sarah sighed and whispered. "I do too." She moved out of the doorway and led her former teacher up to the music room.

"Do you still practice, my dear? You were always such a good student unlike your other siblings."

"Not as often as I like. My room at Uni doesn't have a piano in it, so I have to schedule time at the school." Sarah replied with a slight blush at the praise from her former teacher.

"Well I suppose one must do what one can. I do still have high hopes for Miss Eleanor. She shows promise. If only I could keep her from being so distracted during her lessons. It's rather like she's holding a conversation in her head." Mrs. Feinstein explained.

That was because she probably was holding a conversation in her head with her twin, Sarah thought with a grin. Sarah learned this by the time that the twins were three that something told to one twin was instantly communicated to the other twin. By the time the twins were five, they have conversation where every third word was spoken aloud. Sarah didn't doubt at age seven, they could have whole conversations without speaking a word or even being present in the same room. Sarah shook her head to clear it and brought Mrs. Feinstein to the music room, where Mrs. Feinstein waited for Eleanor.

As she was backing out of the music room, Sarah was almost bowled over by a frantic 7 year old, closely followed by her equally frantic Auntie.

"Sorry Sarah. But were running late for cricket practice and I had a problem finding my cricket glove." Emily held up her hand, now covered with a cricket glove.

Sarah frowned and looked at her watch. Knowing how long it took her usually disorganized sister to find something in her room, she wasn't running that late. Mum was constantly on those two to straighten out their room, with little success. Had Nanny Padma really whipped her two sisters into shape? Perhaps she had underestimated her skills.

Her sister noticed frown but didn't comment; instead she just grabbed Auntie Kenny's and moved toward the door. "See you after practice, Sarah." She yelled as she left the house, dragging poor Auntie Kenny behind her.

Sarah was watching them go with a grin on her face, pivoted and walked straight into Nanny Padma.

"Oh, sorry Sarah, I was just checking to make sure Emily finally got off to her cricket practice."

Sarah sighed and rubbed her nose. "It's alright. No damage." Then after a beat, "You're not very surprised to see me either."

Nanny Padma shrugged "I'm all seeing and all powerful."

Sarah recognized the pop culture reference and raised an eyebrow.

Nanny Padma caved, "Oh, alright, your sister just told me that you were home. But according to them, I'm still practically perfect in every way."

Sarah laughed. "Did you really watch that movie?"

The older woman nodded. "They made me sit through it four times."

"Hah," Sarah exclaimed "I've got you beat. They made me see it six times. Plus all the times I forced Mum to see it when I was their age. Auntie Kenny said you were helping with the research. So why are you out here and not in the library with the rest of the Aunts?"

Padma did a double take trying to connect Sarah's non sequiter. Then she just shook her head, rubbing her forehead as she did so. "I needed a break. The research was giving me a headache, reading through all those bloody manuscripts. They would start out in one language, shift to another part way through and up in a completely different third language."

Sarah looked at her with concern. "Would you like some aspirin?"

"Some what?" Padma asked confused.

"Aspirin, Muggle pain killers. I would offer you a potion but Mum never kept any around. Claimed aspirin were God's gift to man. She always kept a stash in the medicine cabinet of every bathroom."

Padma sent the girl a questioning look.

"Honest, it works really well." Sarah said with assurance.

Padma shook her head. "No thanks, dear. It's starting to clear up. A few minutes away from those bloody texts and I'm all better." She replied with smile, only to wince when a discordant note emerged from the music room. "Perhaps you can retrieve those aspirin for me after all. It seems Eleanor is not having the best of practices."

Sarah frowned at that remark. "She usually does her scales rather well, if I remember correctly."

"I wouldn't worry, Sarah. She's probably still a little shook up from yesterday's events. To tell the truth, I'm still a bit shook up myself." Padma replied, responding to Sarah's frown.

"You're probably right. Still it might help if you could tell me about the attack. I didn't get too much out of the twins and Aunt Kenny was reluctant to tell me too much with the girls around." Sarah stated, catching Padma off guard. "Maybe I can even help out with the research."

Padma studied her eldest charge; she could feel the headache returning again. She really didn't want to relive the events of yesterday. But Harry never mentioned anything about keeping his children out of this business. Clearly, the twins were too young. But what of Sarah? Obviously Harry wasn't expecting her home today- the twins probably left that little tidbit out of their morning ramble to their father. Still the girl was old enough to be informed and maybe she could help make sense of some of those books. Besides, the girl's Aunts were all in the library. If objections were to be made, Padma was certain that they would make them known. She led the girl into the library saying, "I don't see why not. Perhaps afresh set of eyes is just what we need."

Her Aunts rose as one as she entered the room, each one greeting her with a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek, with her Aunt Dawn giving her the longest and most heartfelt.

Sarah finally pulled back from her Aunts' ministrations and looked at them with trepidation. "You found something." She stated flatly.

"No, we haven't found anything." Her Aunt Willow protested meekly.

Sarah gave her a hard glare.

"Well, maybe something." Aunt Willow replied dejectedly, as if found out.

"Maybe? What does that mean? Either you found something or you didn't." Sarah said with a bit more force.

"Maybe in that it's hard to tell sometimes with these things. They're written in obscure languages and are generally vague." Her Aunt Dawn explained, trying to calm her niece. "It's not like it's an exact science. Besides, we did find something. But the whole hug thingy was just because we missed you."

Sarah relaxed a little on hearing her Aunt's explanation, looked over to Nanny Padma, still suspecting a conspiracy, "Did you know anything?"

Nanny Padma shook her head. "No, when I left, everyone was still searching."

"Actually, that's when we found it, right after you left." Aunt Hermione interrupted. "It was the last papyrus you were looking at." Turning to Sarah, she explained. "After Padma left, your Aunt Dawn decided to see what she was looking at and that's when she found the ritual."

Aunt Hermione showed the offending papyrus to Padma. Padma studied the papyrus again. "It looks likes hieroglyphs but it denigrates from there. I could hardly make heads or tails of it."

"That's because it's Demotic." Aunt Hermione replied.

Nanny Padma scrunched up her face. "You mean it's written in a demon language?"

Sarah decided to intervene at this point. "No, not demonic, Demotic. It's a rather late form of the written Ancient Egyptian language. Similar in style to Coptic Egyptian, which, of course, developed after Demotic."

Her Aunts all turned to stare at her.

"What? Am I not supposed to know that?" Sarah asked her Aunts.

Aunt Dawn shook her head, "No, just surprised that you do know that. It's not exactly common knowledge. When did you learn it?"

"Last summer, when David was going out with Kira Weasley, he thought it would be fun to teach us. Mum caught us studying and made the same assumption that Nanny Padma made. Naturally, she was a bit chagrined by the whole thing but instead of getting angry asked David to teach her too. He even bought her a Demotic Dictionary for a present last Christmas." Sarah explained.

Her Aunts laughed at her last statement, getting Sarah fumed. "What's so funny about that?"

"Just the thought of your Mum receiving a dictionary for a Christmas present." Aunt Dawn replied.

Sarah still fuming, spurted out, "It's not that funny. Mum really like learning new things all the time."

"Calm down, Sarah. We're not trying to slight your Mum. We were just remembering when your Mum was younger and learning new things was like pulling teeth. Of course, after she had you lot she had to change her tune."

Sarah was mollified for now. She really didn't want to get in row with her Aunts about her Mum. She really wanted to find out what they discovered in their research. She knew it must have something to with her and her siblings. Two things happened to stop her from finding out. First Nanny Padma wanted know who David was. Sarah explained that David was her next door neighbor and her best friend. Then the phone rang.


	13. Chapter 13

**Prophecies, Hospitals and Deep, Dark Rituals**

Harry was visibly upset when he heard the news about Eleanor. He was in the middle of teaching his sixth year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws when a breathless girl stumbled into his classroom clutching a note in her hand.

"Urgent message for you, Professor Potter." The girl sputtered out while extending her arm, practically forcing the note into his hand. Harry looked the girl over before taking the note. She had bright red hair, brown eyes and was wearing a Gryffindor tie. She couldn't have been more than 14 years old. Definitely a Weasley, Harry thought as he looked the girl over, trouble was which one? Then he remembered that this was Rachel, Fred and Alicia's youngest girl. Harry remembered that she had a bit of a crush Robbie. Having identified the messenger, Harry took the note and asked her to wait while he read the missive. His hands were shaking after he finished reading it. It took all his self control to retain his composure while he dismissed the class. There was a low murmur of surprise going through the classroom as Harry rarely his class out early. Harry knew that as soon as they left the classroom the speculation as to the contents of the note would be widespread. Harry didn't care. He needed to get to hospital to check on his child, it was too soon after the attack for him to let anyone else do this.

Harry waited until the classroom emptied, leaving the Weasley girl and himself. Tucking the note inside his robe he addressed the Weasley girl. "Rachel, I have a favor to ask of you."

The girl nodded to agree and indicate that he should go on. "Go find Robert and Abigail and bring them here to my office."

Rachel gave Harry a queer look, and then looked around the room as if to check if they were truly alone. "Er, Uncle Harry, how do you propose I do that? I don't know their schedules and their both in different years."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Harry apologized. Then he walked back towards his desk, opened the top drawer and pulled out a rather beat up piece of parchment. The young girl's eyes widened to saucers, recognizing the parchment from her father's stories.

"The Marauder's Map!" She exclaimed in an excited whisper.

Harry gave her a quick look, if he wasn't so agitated with the news about Eleanor, he would be amused. Instead, he just concentrated on the parchment in front of him, waving his wand and declaring "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map appeared before him showing the location of all the students in the school. He quickly located Abigail and Robert. He found Abigail in the greenhouse with her Herbology class and Robert in the Gryffindor Common Room. He relayed the news to Rachel, though he suspected that she already knew where Robert was.

Before she left the room she hesitated, concern crossed her face. Rachel asked "Is there something wrong with the twins?"

Harry sighed and his shoulders sagged, the weight of the day catching up with him. "Yes, Eleanor had an accident and is now in Hospital."

"What kind of an accident?" She followed up with.

"I don't know. The note doesn't say." Harry stopped and thought about his daughter's day. It must have happened quite late in the day, so it didn't happen at school. After school she had Piano lessons, so maybe she fell down the stairs. But none of his children have done that before, even when they were smaller. Then he remembered who was minding the girls today while he had Padma aiding with the research. Rachel looked to leave, but Harry stopped her.

"On second thought don't bring them here. No need for them to panic over this just let them know that Eleanor is in hospital and that I will talk to them both later this evening to let them know what is happening."

He dismissed her then and turned back to the map. "Mischief managed." He watched the parchment go blank, folded it back up and returned it to his desk drawer. He grabbed his cloak and headed towards his quarters where a fireplace with a Floo connection existed.

Hermione was there to greet him when he stepped out of the fireplace. He looked around for everyone else but didn't see anyone. "I came as soon I heard. What happened to Ellie?" He asked her. He watched her as a worried look crossed her face. "Come on, Hermione; tell me what happened to Ellie?" He was starting to really get worried now as she didn't respond right away, just standing there looking a bit lost.

Finally she blurted out "She hurt herself at cricket practice."

"But Ellie doesn't play cricket. How can she get hurt at cricket practice? She's supposed to practicing piano."

Hermione let out a nervous laugh. "Funny story, actually probably not so funny story. Emily and Eleanor decided to play a bit of a prank and switch places with each other. Emily playing piano and Eleanor playing cricket."

Harry swore. "I knew I shouldn't have let them watch that silly Disney movie. How did you find out?"

"Emily confessed all when she heard that Ellie was in hospital. Girl was heartbroken to find out that her sister got hurt." Hermione explained while she and Harry walked outside to the apparition point. "She left straight away with Padma and Dawn to the go to hospital to see her."

"Did someone contact Susan?" Harry asked thinking about the family Healer, Susan Bones.

"Yes, Padma called her straight away. She's already at hospital taking care of Eleanor." Hermione stated, giving a Harry a strange look.

Harry noticed. "What? Have I got a bit of ash still left on my face?"

"No, it's just that you're taking this all rather calmly. Aren't you the least bit upset with the girls?" Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged. "Of course I'm upset. But they are only seven. It's not like they were planning this with malicious intent. Come on, you mean to tell me that Art and Ron never did anything like this while they were growing up?"

Hermione shook her head but still was chewing on her lip. Something else was bothering her. Harry knows Hermione too well. "You found something, didn't you?"

"Well, yes. But we didn't get much time to sort it all out, what with Sarah coming home and Eleanor being in hospital."

Harry glared at her, getting ready to chastise to her for holding out on him but realizing that he was already at the apparition point decided to wait until after he got Eleanor back from hospital.

They reappeared in an alley behind the hospital. Harry turned to Hermione, his brain finally processing her last statement. "Sarah is home already? She's not supposed to be home until Saturday. Is she all right? She's not pregnant or engaged or married is she?"

"Harry! Where do you get these things from? She's not any of those things, she is just home early." Hermione admonished him.

"Sorry, my imagination got the best of me. Did she bring David with her?" He asked hopefully. Out of all the boys that Sarah knew and dated, David was the only one that he liked and trusted. He was also the only one that Harry knew that didn't want to end the world or kill her parents.

"No, no David. I didn't have a chance to ask about him but she did seem to a bit put out with him." Hermione replied as they entered the hospital. Harry shook his head in amusement. That girl was always getting upset by David and his antics. She would deny that she was interested in him, but still get upset if he didn't act the way she wanted him to. He would find out later what happened between them, but for now he needed to concentrate on getting Eleanor home and finding out about that damn prophecy that they found.

Walking up to the reception desk, Harry inquired about where his daughter was located. "Where are they treating my daughter, Eleanor Potter?" Harry asked the young receptionist.

"She's in the Pediatric Ward Room 377. They just moved her out of ER." The receptionist replied.

Harry looked confused. He had never been in that portion of the hospital before. "How do I get there from here?"

"Oh, sorry sir, just turn left at the end of this hallway and take the first elevator bank up to the third floor. Just follow the signs from there." The receptionist answered brightly.

Harry thanked the young woman and dragged Hermione behind him as he headed toward the Pediatric Ward.

The waiting room was a chaotic mess when Harry entered it. Half dozen females were all clamoring for his attention. Harry didn't hesitate as he focused in on the youngest one there. He scooped Emily up and held her tight. The young girl was inconsolable, sobbing out apologies and regrets into his shoulder. Harry just rubbed small circles on her back, while murmuring soft words of reassurance into her hair. But Emily's sobs wouldn't calm, so he remembered a sleeping charm that Buffy had taught him and whispered it in her ear. Luckily the charm took and soon her sobbing stopped to be replaced by the even breathing of sleep. He passed the sleeping form of his daughter to her Aunt Dawn and sought out Susan Bones to find out what was happening with his other young daughter.

"So Susan, what is wrong with Eleanor?" Harry spat out. His anger was starting to grow as the situation around him got more out of control. His family was clamoring for his attention but his attention was focused on this one thing.

The Healer gave him a sympathetic smile "I'm not exactly sure myself. I just now got here. I was tied up with another patient at my office when I received the call about Eleanor. Let's find out together." She motioned for him to follow her as she exited the waiting room. She navigated her way through the hallway with Harry following close behind up to the Nurses' Station, where she requested the chart on Eleanor. Harry noticed how confidently she strode into the room that supposedly held his daughter and not for the first time felt a wisp of melancholy for Buffy, though she would be even more insistent on getting their daughter out of hospital considering her great dislike of them. Harry shook his head and focused again on the woman in front of him. She stopped in the doorway of the room that Eleanor was supposed to be in. Harry wondered what the hold up was until he heard the voice of another woman addressing Susan. Harry peeked around Susan, hoping to catch a glimpse of his daughter, only to see a rather young looking intern chatting with Susan, filling up the doorway. Harry finally cleared his throat, getting the attention of both doctors. "Can you please tell me what is wrong with my daughter?" He asked with exasperation.

The intern blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry Mr. Potter. Your daughter has broken her left forearm. I've placed it in a cast for now and given her some painkillers and a mild sedative to help her rest. I would also recommend keeping her overnight for observation."

Harry looked to Susan to confirm this diagnosis. "Is that it? She just has a broken arm?"

Susan looked over the medical file and nodded. "Yes, just a broken arm."

"Then I'm taking her home with me. When did you want to schedule a follow up visit?" Susan suggested a date and Harry agreed. He signed the release forms and finally got a chance to see his daughter. She looked so small lying on that hospital bed in her sister's cricket uniform and bright pink cast adorning her left forearm. Harry just wanted to pick her up and hold her until she woke. But he needed to be back at school and there was also that nagging prophecy that was looming over all their heads. So he retrieved a wheelchair and with Susan's help, gently lowered Eleanor into it and wheeled her out to the waiting area. It was a good thing that Dawn was driving today.

Having loaded his two sleeping daughters into Dawn's car, Harry turned his attention to his eldest daughter. He greeted her with a warm hug and kiss on the cheek. He stepped back to take a better look at her, making sure she was all there. Sarah gave him a curious look. "What's the matter, Daddy?"

"Nothing, my dear. Just feeling a bit overprotective of you lot." Harry responded with a grin.

Sarah frowned. "Did they tell you about the ritual yet?"

"Hermione might have mentioned it in passing. But I don't wish to talk about it here. Let's go home, get some dinner and then talk about this prophecy. Your mother would have agreed: food first, dire predictions of death and destruction later." Harry replied.

Dinner was a strained affair. His two youngest daughters were still very groggy, one from pain meds and the other from the aftereffects of a sleep charm, and as such didn't eat very much, falling asleep before dessert. Hermione, Dawn and Willow had an air of nervousness about them. Each wanted to bring up the dread prophecy but Harry would have none of it. With a hard glare he kept them from talking about it at the dinner table, especially where four very young ears could hear about it. Those ears were sleepy now yet could awaken at any moment especially when things that they are not to know about are discussed. Kennedy had a guilty look on her face, which Harry felt she should since it was her encouragement that nudged Eleanor and Emily to carry out their Parent Trap scheme. Sarah also has a guilty look on her face, though Harry couldn't understand why. From her telling, she had actually tried to discourage the girls from switching places. But logic and seven year olds are two things that don't really mix, especially if you are receiving encouragement from your very cool aunt.

Padma looked lost. Harry felt he was responsible for that feeling and decided to talk to her about after dinner. He hired her to take care of his children yet ignored her during this whole incident. At Hospital, he gave the child he put to sleep into the arms of her Aunt rather than giving her to Padma. He wheeled the other daughter in a wheelchair right past her and strapped her in her Aunt's van, not once acknowledging his children's nanny. When they arrived back at the house, Narcissa Malfoy was standing there waiting in the doorway, taking charge of the twins as soon as they past the threshold, leaving Padma left out again.

After the girls were bathed and settled into bed, he pulled Padma aside before they entered into library. "I want to apologize to you, Padma. I haven't been very fair to you during this whole incident."

"It's alright, Harry, I understand." Padma responded with a heavy sigh. "I sometimes forgot how important family is to you."

"No, it's not that it at all. I just got caught up with the events and didn't think about you. As far as family is concerned, you became part of this family when the girls first accepted you. Never think you are not part of this family." Harry replied.

Padma felt overwhelmed. She never expected this when she first took up the job. She never felt that way during all her years of marriage to Terry. She always felt like an outsider in that family. She sniffed to hold back the tears. Harry, a bit embarrassed by the emotional outbreak, offered her a hanky then turned and exited into the library. She took the hanky with a watery smile, following him into the library.

Harry noticed that they had gathered around the table in the middle of the library, the one Buffy had always called it the "Circle of Doom" as it was where the Council seemed to have their apocalypse meetings, an ominous portent if there ever was one. Harry noticed Sarah and sat next to her. He wanted to question her presence, but decided that this prophecy or ritual probably concerned her too. She was old enough to know. He cleared his throat and glared at Hermione. "Alright, let's get this over with. Tell me about this prophecy concerning my children."

"It's not a prophecy, Harry. It's a dark ritual with prophetic elements." Hermione corrected.

"What's the difference?"

"Well, a ritual usually has a specific time element to it, whereas a prophecy can be rather open-ended." Hermione explained.

Harry thought this over and nodded, remembering his own prophecy. "Well then, tell me about this dark ritual that threatens the lives of my children." He reached over and grabbed Sarah's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze but not letting go of it.

"It was Padma that found the passage." Hermione started.

"But I couldn't read it!" Padma protested. "It was Sarah who figured out what language it was in."

Harry turned to his daughter and asked "Is this true?"

Sarah nodded. "I recognized it from when Mum, Kari, Terry and I were studying with David. It was Demotic."

Harry's face wrinkled "I didn't know that David knew any demon languages."

"No Daddy, not demonic, Demotic. It's the written form of Egyptian hieroglyphs." Sarah corrected. "You remember, don't you Daddy, the language that David was trying to teach Mum and me last Christmas?"

Harry thought for moment and nodded. "Right, dead language you and your mother were learning, go on, tell me about this bloody prophecy."

"It's not a prophecy: it's a dark ritual with prophetic elements!" Hermione corrected with a huff. "Honestly, Harry."

"Prophecy, ritual, whatever, I really don't care. It still involves my children." Harry shot back.

Dawn took over at this point, trying to calm things down. "We found it after Padma left to look in on the twins this afternoon. She was looking at the papyrus before she left. We had it almost sorted out by the time she came back with Sarah. The research staff put on the finishing touches while we were at the hospital" She paused to see if Harry was going to interrupt. He just nodded to indicate she should continue. "Anyway, as far as we can tell, the translation goes like this: From the blood of the Queen's spawn, three alone and two from one, shall call forth Amuk, Destroyer of Souls. All must be drained together on the new moon before the solstice after the demise of the Queen."

Harry paled. This can't be happening now. It was too soon after Buffy's death. Didn't his family have enough pain and suffering? His mind raced to put together ways to protect his family that he almost didn't notice that Sarah deciding to take offense.

She stood up quickly, shaking her father's hand from her grasp and let out a hysterical laugh. "How do you know this ritual applies to us? Mum was many things but she wasn't a queen. And what's all that stuff about two from one? Do you even know what that means? I think this whole thing is rubbish."

Her Aunt Dawn fidgeted with the papers in front of her, while looking nervously at her father. Sarah was getting more agitated. "Why do you keep looking at Daddy? He's not even mentioned in this little prophecy."

"Because your Father knows the meanings behind the words. I wanted to make sure it was okay to tell his secrets." Her Aunt replied crisply. All eyes focused on her father at that point.

Her father rose now, anger replacing the earlier sorrow, "Yes, let us tell all our secrets. After all, it is only the lives of MY children that are at stake, lives that will now be thrown away to some stupid prophecy or ritual." Turning to Sarah now he took her hand and softly whispered "The people described in the ritual are you and your siblings. Trust me on this, Sarah."

She nodded and shrank back from his growing anger, sitting back down into her chair. She had never seen him this angry before, it was confusing and terrifying at the same time. He has once told them that Voldemort took all of his anger, but it seems now that it has come back. She watched as he moved from his place next to her and stalked angrily over to where her Aunts were sitting.

"Do you know who is trying to raise this destroyer of souls? Or is this just some random violence directed at my children?" Harry demanded. "Have you even given thought on how to protect them? Should I just take them all with me back to Hogwarts?"

Her Aunt Dawn stood up to him" That's enough Harry! They're my family too. You know I will do everything to protect them and as matter of fact I do have a list."

They were standing toe to toe, face to face; Sarah wondered who would blink first. It was her Aunt Dawn. She turned away from her father, went back to her seat and picked up some papers. "We narrowed it down to about 10, the number of beings with enough power to control the Destroyer of Souls. From there we eliminated the friendlies, those who have the power but who are connected to the family in some way. That left us with 6. We also eliminated Ethan Rayne, since he's still rotting away in prison back in the States. We also decided to not include those who are not in the British Isles at this time, this left us with 3. And with the information gathered by Faith, we have narrowed it down to one, a rather nasty Demon lord named Garthok."

"What are you doing to protect my family?" Her father demanded.

"Right, protection, well, we haven't sorted it all out yet, but we do plan on placing a slayer as a substitute teacher for the rest of the girl's school year. Plus we can have the younger ones over for training exercises on a daily basis, oh and you can make sure Robbie and Abby stay in Hogwarts. 'Cause that's the safest place for them." Aunt Willow replied breathlessly.

"What about this Garthok creature? Any clues on where he's at or what type of army he has with him?" Sarah decided to add as a follow up. She promptly received stares from adults at the table.

"You, young lady, will have nothing to do with any of that. That's for your Aunt Dawn and the slayers to take care of. You will try to keep to the house for the next two weeks and watch over your baby sisters." Her father snaps at her, making her feel likes she ten again.

She sits back in her chair and sulks "But Daddy, I just want to help. I may not be a super warrior like Mum or any of the other slayers, but I can help research, do magic and wield a mean sword."

Her father takes her hand again and looks at her "I know sweetheart, but I just need to you to be safe."

"Don't worry Harry; we'll make sure she's safe as houses. Just take care of the two at Hogwarts." Aunt Dawn replied.


	14. Chapter 14

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Abby has fallen asleep before her father returned from their house with the news about Eleanor. She and Robbie have disregarded their Father's instructions and went straight to his office as soon as their cousin told them the news. There was no way that they could just go back to the common room to wait for the news. Robbie has collected their books so they could work on their homework, in Abby's case, and their OWL revisions, in Robbie's case. But the wait proved longer than expected and Abby was nodding off, her lack of sleep from the previous night catching up with her. It wasn't that she didn't like sleep; it was just the nightmares that had started up this past week kept her from sleep. She would wake up in the middle of the night covered in sweat, with a scream at the edge of her throat. She dared not bother Daddy with it: he had too many problems to deal with already, with Mum being gone and the twins causing mischief. She really didn't bother Robby with it either as he seemed to be wrapped up in his OWL revisions and his girlfriend.

Robbie prodded her awake. "Father's back."

Abby rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced up at her father. He has a very concerned look on his face as he came out of the Floo system. "Is everything alright, Daddy?" She asked hesitantly,

Her question prompted him to notice them. "What are you doing here? I thought I told to you to remain in the Common room."

Robby shrugged, "You did, but we couldn't sit around all night waiting to find out what happened to our sisters."

Harry gave them a grim smile. "It is nothing too serious. Your sisters decided that now would be good time to play a prank on their Nanny. Eleanor now has a broken arm for her troubles. She'll be fine in a few weeks. So you see nothing to worry about."

Both children studied him, something seemed off about him, something other than Eleanor's broken arm. But seeing the resolve in his face, they knew that they would not get a story about that. "I'll escort you both back to the Gryffindor Tower so you won't be out of bounds. You both have classes tomorrow and I really don't have a good excuse to keep you from them. I'll bring Eleanor and Emily over this weekend and you can grill them then."

Slightly mollified, Abby and her brother followed their father to the entrance of the Common Room, bid him good night and entered in to retreat for the night.

She woke the next morning and felt somehow different. Her cramps this past week had been getting worse, to the point in which she asked Madam Pomfrey about them. She just dismissed them as normal and sent her back to class. But this morning, the cramps and the trickle of liquid running down her leg woke her from her troubled sleep. She quickly got up and ran into the bathroom, hoping she didn't mess her bed. Except when she got to the bathroom, she noticed it wasn't pee running down her leg, but blood. She had gotten her first period. Luckily, Sarah and her Mum had gone over some of this stuff during holiday, so she wasn't completely in a panic. She cleaned herself up and borrowed a pad from a stash she found that some other girls were using. It was then that she noticed how everything was in complete focus. That wouldn't have been unusual except for the fact that she didn't have her glasses on. Abby panicked. This couldn't be happening to her. So she rushed back into the bathroom, locked herself in a stall and began to cry.

She didn't know how long she had been in there, it felt like hours, when someone knocked on the stall door. "Go away!" She screamed at whoever was on the other side.

"Abby, it's me, Al." The voice replied.

"Don't care. Go away." Abby repeated.

"Come on, Abby. Jeremy and I were waiting for you in the Common Room. After you missed breakfast, I volunteered to fetch you."Al said.

"Not hungry. Just go away." Abby repeated and continued to sob.

"What's wrong, Abby?" concern creeping into the voice of her friend.

"Nothing is wrong. Just go away."

Her friend let out a growl. "Arggh. You are trying my patience Abigail Potter. Alright, you leave me no choice." She paused and then cried out "Alomorhah." The stall door unlocked, Al opened it and took a good look at her friend. She was huddled up in the corner of the stall, tears streaked down her face and her eyes were red and blotchy from crying. She was still in her nightgown but the nightgown was soiled with blood. Understanding crept over Al's face. "Ah, you got your period today. First one, eh? Come on Abby, not the end of the world."

"You don't understand. How could you possibly understand." Abby sobbed.

Al thought her friend was cracking up. Every girl got her period sooner or later. Then she glanced over at the toilet and did a double take. There was no handle to flush it with. "Abby, why did you pick a broken toilet? No matter, come on girl, let's get you cleaned up. " She went to reach for her friend, but her friend flinched at her approach. "Come on Abby, let me help you."

"It wasn't broken when I entered it earlier." Abigail whispered and started to cry again, opening her previously closed hand, showing her friend the handle to flush the toilet.

Al gulped, 'It was probably just loose' she thought. She reached again for her friend and gently pulled her up. Abigail let herself be pulled up but just stood there, sobbing and holding the toilet flusher in her hand. Al pried it from her hand and then proceeded to undress her friend and get her in the shower. After washing her friend down, Al dried her off and wrapped her in a towel. She left her in the bathroom while she went back to the dorm to retrieve some clothes for her friend to wear. Once she had Abby dressed and ready to go, she dragged her to down to the Common Room where Jeremy was waiting for them to go to their First Period Class.

Abby sat down in the Common Room, hugging herself in terror afraid to touch anything in fear that she might break it. Al has placed her glasses on her and they were now giving her a headache. They had class in 10 minutes but all Abby wanted to do was to crawl into a corner and cry. She wished for the second time in as many days that her Mum as still around to help her with this scary stuff. She couldn't very well tell Daddy. He was still trying to deal with the loss of their Mum as well as the twins' recent antics. Sarah would help but she was in London, at home. That left Robbie granted he was a boy but he was still her big brother and he always looked after her. She must have said his name out loud because Al reacted to it by asking her, "Why Robbie?"

Abby just whispered back to her friend, "Because he knows. He knows."

Al didn't understand but went to look for Robbie anyway. Luckily for her, Robbie was on his way back from breakfast and in the hall near the tower, heading towards his first class. He was laughing and joking with his friends, the Weasley twins. Al breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I found you. Your sister needs you. She's waiting for you in the Common Room." She started to pull on his robe to direct him.

"Pip's summoning you now, Rob?" One of the twins quipped.

"Well you know how little sisters are…"Robbie answered with a laugh. Both twins nodded in agreement. "Go on, I'll catch up with you later after I deal with Pip's little crisis." He waved his friends goodbye and waited until they were out of earshot. He then turned his attention to Al. "Now, what is the matter with my sister?"

Al gulped, she had never seen Abby's brother like this, so focused, so intense. "I-I'm not sure. She, um, well um," she paused and looked around, then whispered "she started her period today." Then in a more normal voice, I think it had something to do with the toilet handle breaking. I think it was loose but anyway, it fell off and now she seems to rather catatonic. She, well the only work I could get out of her was your name. Though I'm not sure what you could do since you're a boy and ..."

"Shut it!" Robbie finally cried out to stop the young girl from babbling. Robbie was exasperated already with her, he knew she was Abby's friend but the way she babbled was worse than their Aunt Willow. Abby had done something to completely unhinge the poor girl. What did she say again, something about Abby getting her period and toilet handles. It hit him then, it was like a light bulb going off in his brain. He glanced at his watch and turned on the girl. "Go on to class, I will take care of Abigail"

"Do you know what's upsetting her?" Al asked him.

"I've a pretty good idea. Now run along, you don't want to be late for class." Robbie said distractedly.

"But I should really be there for her, I am her best friend." Al protested.

"Best friend or not, you can't help her with this problem. This is a family matter." He said dismissing the girl, hoping that it would be enough to put the girl off.

She seemed to accept the explanation. "Oh, alright then, "Al said reluctantly, "tell her I'll take notes for her and check up on her after class."

Robbie nodded and watched her, making sure that she was on her way to class. Satisfied that she wasn't turning back, Robbie sprinted to the Gryffindor Common Room. When he entered, he saw her sitting there by the empty fireplace with her knees pressed to her chest, looking very small. "Alright Pip, what's all this about you breaking toilets?" Robbie asked his sister, his tone light, hoping a humorous approach might get through to the girl. It didn't work, she started crying. Robbie sighed; perhaps a different approach was needed. "Abigail Marie Potter, you will stop crying this minute and tell me what's going on. If you don't, then perhaps you would like to explain it to Daddy." This tactic seemed to work as she stopped crying and looked up at him.

"Please don't tell Daddy." She begged him.

"I won't tell him if you just tell me what's wrong." He held out his hand to her, she reached out and grabbed it, holding it fast to her chest. He pulled her up from her chair and dragged her from the common room and out of the tower and into an empty classroom. Robbie set her down on a desk, cast a silencing charm on the room and then rounded on her. "What is the problem here, Pip?" Robbie suspected but wanted to hear it from her to confirm it.

She looked up at him with reddened eyes and said with a hitch in her voice, "I'm a slayer."

"So? Mum was a slayer. One of our Aunties is a slayer. All the girls you met at the house while you were growing up were slayers" Robbie pointed out to her.

"But, but…" Abby tried to protest.

"But nothing. Heck, you're brave, courageous and now you're wicked strong and you don't need your glasses anymore. No one is forcing you to go out slaying right away. You don't have to slay at all if you don't want to, it's not like it was when Mum was called." Robbie explained.

"But I'm a freak." Abby protested.

"Pfft, Pip, you've were a bit of freak before you were called. Come on admit it, you hate quidditch you wanted to stab the sorting hat, you hang out with Al and Jeremy, tow of the geekiest kids in you class. Your hair is a bit of wild mess and you look like Daddy so much that it makes the Professors and half the student body is uncomfortable around you. You're small but the last person to pick on you received a bloody nose for their trouble." Robbie looked over at sister and saw that his soliloquy was working, having brought a teary smile from his sister. "And, damn it, you are a Summers woman and a Potter girl. But most of all and most importantly, you are my sister. I'll love you no matter what you are or even if you can kick my butt from here to Sunday. Just don't expect me to play 'Slayer' with you again." Robbie paused and Abby laughed at an old memory that last statement brought up. Robbie smiled; he was finally getting through to her. Good, now it was time to get down to business. "Ok, you're a Slayer now. You still have to be secret identity girl. You can probably tell your best friends but not the whole world."

"What about Daddy?" Abby interrupted.

Robbie shook his head. "No, not yet, it is still too soon. But we need to tell someone so we can get you a space where you can train."

"Uncle Sev." Abby suggested.

"Right, might as well go to the top." Robbie replied. With that he rose from the desk he was sitting at and stole a glance at his sister. She still looked like the scrawny little girl who rode the train with him to Hogwarts in September. It was hard to believe that she could crush him like a gnome. He held out his hand to her to help her out of her seat. She took it and pulled Robbie into a bone-crushing hug. Soon air was becoming a problem, a not so subtle reminder that his sister had changed.

"Uh, Pip? You might want to ease up a bit, I still need to breath." Robbie gasped.

"Oh sorry, Robbie." Abby replied with a sniff, as if to cry again as she let go of her brother.

"Don't start crying again, Abby, I'm alright just needed for you to ease up a bit on your grip. Come on; let's go see 'Uncle Sev'." Robbie said as he disentangles himself from her hug.

It was a good thing Uncle Sev was Abby's godfather, otherwise he would have been reluctant to go to much less tell the harsh looking, stern man who is their Headmaster. Heaven knows he would never get away with calling him Uncle Sev. When they arrived at stairway leading up to the Headmaster's office, Robbie wasn't surprised that Abby knew the password to the office. After all, she had been their more times in one year than he had in five. The Headmaster was not in his office when they entered it, so they sat down in the chairs in front of his desk and waited. Robbie took the time to look over his sister. She seemed better now that they had a plan of action. He noticed she was rubbing her forehead and playing with her glasses.

"Uh, Abby, are you alright?" He probed his sister.

She shook her head "A bit of headache. I can't seem to see anything right with these glasses."

Robbie pondered this for a moment. "Abby, try seeing without your glasses."

She removed her glasses and looked around, astonished by the fact she no longer needed them. But when she thought about it, it made sense. Being called as a slayer changed her eyesight as well as her strength. It also improved her hearing, as she heard Uncle Sev enter the room quietly, as if to surprise the pair. She spoke to Robbie "Uncle Sev is here."

Robbie looked surprised as he didn't hear him enter the room. Then shook his head, ruefully. Slayers have better hearing than normal too. He winced at her terminology in calling the Headmaster. "Must you refer to him as Uncle Sev?"

"Well he is my godfather!" Abby protested.

Robbie's retort went unspoken as the Headmaster entered the room and approached his desk. "Miss Potter, Mr. Potter, what do I owe the pleasure of the prescience of the both of you?" He asked with a sneer.

Robbie gulped, the mere prescience of the man making him nervous, glanced over at Abigail, who seemed to have went back into her comatose mode. Looking back forward, he took a deep breath and plunged ahead, "Abby and I have a bit of a problem, sir."

The Headmaster raised an eyebrow. "And you brought it to me rather than going to your Father? How interesting…"

Robbie looked again at his sister, who was still catatonic, and continued. "Abby has been Chosen as a Slayer." He paused to see what effect that has on the Headmaster, but the Headmaster showed no surprise. Robbie went on "Well, Abby needs a place in the castle where she can train and advertise to the whole student body that Abby is a Slayer"

Professor Snape folded his hands on his desk. "I see. Does your Father know that one of his daughters has followed his wife's career path?"

Robbie gulped at the tone, looked over at his sister again, who now looked like she wanted to curl up into a little ball and disappear. "Um, no sir. We didn't want to spring this on him so soon, what with Mum only being gone a month now."

"Term ends in a month. How did you plan on dealing with your sister's condition then?"

Robbie didn't answer. He hadn't thought that far ahead. H only knew that he had to keep it from their Father for now. The Headmaster continued "And whom exactly is going to be training Miss Potter? Has

A Watcher, Robbie had forgotten about that. Perhaps he should contact Grandpa Giles to send one? Then an idea came to him, "I could do it, sir. I could train her. I watched Mum train and I've trained with several of the younger slayers over Holiday. I'm sure I could train Abby."

The Professor looked impressed. "I see, what of your own studies, then? Do you not have OWLs this year?"

Robbie looked away. He knew he had OWLs to study for this year, but Abby was more important. "Sir, I believe I can work that in. Abby is important to me. It is vital that I train with her. I promise I'll still study hard for my OWLs."

"What of Quidditch? Are you giving that up too?"

Abigail finally awoke from her stupor and spoke up, "Please Uncle Sev let Robbie help me. I promise I won't go patrolling or anything like that."

Professor Snape looked hard at both of them, and then spoke. "I will let this go on. You can find a space to practice on the seventh floor opposite the tapestry of Barabbas the Barmy. Beyond the armor, pace back and forth 3 times with a thought in your mind of what you exactly need. The room will appear with just what you need. Mind you, I will be watching both of your grades. If I see either of you slipping, I will inform your Father on Abigail's 'condition'."

"Yes sir." Both children answered in unison and then rose to leave. Robbie paused before leaving, remembering about the missed morning classes. "Sir, Abby and I both need passes for our classes that we missed."

The Headmaster let out a put upon sigh, drew up the passes, gave them to the children and watched as they both departed quickly from his office. The portrait of Professor Dumbledore also watched and after they left, said to Severus, "Are sure that this is a good idea Severus, keeping important information like that from Harry?"

Severus shrugged "I don't know. But perhaps I can find out why Minister Boot insisted I hire that damn assistant librarian."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15- Someone to Watch over Me

Later, during lunch, the twins cornered Robbie. "Out of my way, you two, I have a date with my girlfriend." Robbie said as he tried to maneuver past his two friends.

"Not until you give us the scoop on Pip." Ron growled

"Yea, is someone hurting her?" Art asked protectively.

Robbie laughed and put up his hands, "Relax, Pip is fine, just female problems." Both Art and Ron blanched and backed away. They may only be fifteen, but both knew the meaning of 'female problems'.

"Oh well, if that's all…" Art said.

"We'll just retreat back into our shell now." Ron completed and his two friends moved away letting Robbie pass through.

Robbie smiled to himself as he walked past his friends and made his way to the Slytherin table. He always knew his friends were protective of Abby; they treated her like their own sister. Not that she needed their protection anymore, it was still good to know that they cared and watched out for her. Now to deal with Nicole, she would be upset about his spending less time with her but he couldn't tell her the real reason why. He did have a convenient excuse that he had to help her revise for the end of term because of their Mum's death. He hoped that explanation mollified her. Abby left it up to him whom among his friends he could tell. Robbie knows that she would probably end up telling Al and Jeremy but she trusted him to keep her secret. Probably because she was twelve, he just hoped that he didn't betray that trust.

Abby quickly settled into a routine. She went to her classes during the day and then trained with Robbie for at least an hour a day. She was surprised how much they remembered from Mum's training sessions that they used to participate in over the summer and holidays. She felt bad that she had to lie to Al and Jeremy as to why she had to kip out on them every evening and always returned so sweaty. She told them Madam Pomfrey recommended that she and Robbie start an exercise regimen to help them cope with the grief over the loss of their Mum. It wasn't a total lie; the past two weeks she hadn't once felt the familiar pangs of grief for her Mum that had been a constant for the previous month. That was probably because her body felt the pains of muscles being used in ways that she hasn't used in awhile. She diligently kept up with her studies as her Uncle Sev requested, so it was with surprise that two weeks later during Potions, a third year boy entered the classroom.

Professor Malfoy scowled at the boy."Yes? What do you want boy?"

"The Headmaster wants to see Miss Potter in his office now, sir." The boy replied nervously

Professor Malfoy glared at the boy, "Now?"

"Ye-Yes, sir, he sent a note sir." The boy handed him a slip of parchment.

Professor Malfoy snatched it from him, scanned it and then handed the note back to the boy. "Clean up your work area, Miss Potter and report to the Headmaster."

Abby nodded and quickly cleaned up her work area, grabbed her books and muttered a goodbye to her friends as she followed the boy out of the classroom.

He waited two weeks after the charm had notified him that the Potter girl had been Chosen. His grandfather always said that two weeks is the right amount of time to approach a Slayer who wasn't originally identified as a potential. The girl would be in a panic, unused to her new powers and unsure of what to do. It was the perfect time to swoop in and control the girl. His Master had provided him with the opportunity and his grandfather had given him the training to be a Watcher to this girl. He needed her obedience so that when the time was right he could deliver her to his Master. He dressed for the role that morning, discarding his robes for a Seville Road tweed suit. He made sure he occluded his mind from the Headmaster; he certainly didn't want him snooping around in his head. His Master had made sure that any owls sent by the girl would be intercepted, so she wouldn't be able to contact the actual Council to check his credentials. He also needed to avoid her father and keep his contact with the Headmaster to a minimum. Both were master Occulmens and might be able to see through his mental defenses. He straightened his tie, grabbed the appropriate book from his bookshelf and headed towards the Headmaster's quarters; it was time to do his Master's bidding. He arrived at the Headmaster's office, spoke the password given to all the staff and entered the office

Severus sighed; things were going too well this week. He knew that this was changing when espied the Assistant Librarian entering his office. "May I help you Mr. Braceton-Milbourne?"

He looked him over and noticed that he was attired in Muggle clothing rather than his usual robes. This sent up a red flag in the Headmaster's mind. He tried to quickly probe the man's mind but found it occluded from him. He noticed that the young man was carrying a muggle briefcase and watched him as he pulled out a card from it.

The Assistant Librarian spoke, "I need to see Miss Abigail Potter. It is of the utmost importance that I do so."

"Why is that?"

"That is a matter between Miss Potter and myself, I am only asking you to bring her to me." Mr. Braceton-Milboune replied.

"I will need more than that for me to pull her out of class." Severus shot back.

The Assistant Librarian sighed, as if he were put upon by an onerous child. "Very well, she has been Chosen and I have been selected to be her Watcher to guide her along her path."

Severus raised an eyebrow at this statement and evaluated the man in a new light. The Council must have been desperate to send a man like this to be a Watcher. No matter, the Council's business was not his business unless it interfered with the operation of the school. Just training the girl did nothing to disrupt things since the girl was already training with her brother. He asked the man "I assume you have your proper credentials?"

The man nodded and reached into his briefcase to withdraw them but Severus halted him. "No need to present them now. I trust you are who say are. Just wait here while fetch Miss Potter." He wrote out a note and left the man sitting in his office. The Headmaster caught a Third Year Hufflepuff boy passing in the hallway. "Mr. Clay, I need you to fetch Miss Potter for me. You know who she is?"

"Yes Sir, everyone knows the Potters." The boy replied.

"Good. She should be in potions right now. Take this note to Professor Malfoy; it excuses Miss Potter from his class for today. Do not return without her." Severus explained to the boy.

"Yes Sir." He responded and headed off towards the Potions classroom. Severus watched him go off, and then returned to his office with the Assistant Librarian sitting in it to wait for Abigail.

Abby was surprised to sense someone to her than the Headmaster in Uncle Sev's office. At first she thought it might be her father, but it he didn't really smell like her father and when she entered the room she could tell that he was not. She sat down next to the strange man and looked up at the Headmaster. "Professor?" she asked, using his formal title rather in front of this stranger rather than her more familiar greeting.

"Ah good, Abigail, it is good that you could make it." Professor Snape said with a warm smile.

Abby gave him a confused look. The Headmaster never referred to her by her first name in front of other people.

The strange man cleared his throat, "Headmaster, if I may?"

"Go right ahead." The Headmaster replied.

The strange man turned to Abby and spoke. "My name is William Braceton-Milboune. You are Miss Abigail Marie Potter and you have been Chosen." He paused and reached into his bag and pulled out a book from it. He handed it to her, saying "I believe you'll need this book"

Abby looked down at the book, then back at Mr. Braceton-Milboune "I already read THAT book, sir. I know about being Chosen too." She then looked accusingly at the Headmaster, "You told them, didn't you? You promised me that you wouldn't contract them!"

The Headmaster looked hurt, "Honestly Abigail, I did not contact them."

"I supposed Father knows now, too?" Abby felt like she was going to cry, her world crashing down on her again.

Mr. Braceton-Milboune looked confused. This was not the way this was supposed to happen. Turning on Abby "How can you know about being Chosen and where did you get a hold of this book to read? Also, why would I tell your Father? The slayer works alone, with only her Watcher to guide her." He sat there pride in being a Watcher shone on his face.

Abby shook her head, "Do you know who my Mother was? Maybe I should have contacted the Council after all. Grandpa would have sent someone better than this." She rose to leave. "Besides, Robbie's training me just fine. If I need more help I will just call my family." Abby was rarely disrespectful to adults but this man was trying her patience.

Mr. Braceton-Milboune was getting angry now. "Miss Potter, perhaps you didn't understand me when I said that the Slayer works alone. That means no family. I must insist that your Robbie cease his training immediately. As your Watcher, I forbid any contact with your family at all."

Abby stopped in her tracks and stared at him dumbfounded. She looked up at the Headmaster was equally dumbfounded. "Uncle Sev, do I have to listen to him? Is he really my Watcher? Can't I just owl Grandpa and tell him to send me a new one?"

Braceton-Milboune face became confused again. "Why is this girl trying to contact her grandfather? The Council appointed me to be Miss Potter's Watcher."

The Headmaster smirked. "Apparently, Mr. Braceton-Milboune, there seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding here. I was under the impression that the Council had changed its opinion regarding the relationship between the Slayer and her family. That it was not only accepted but encouraged for the girl to b e in contact with her family, but perhaps I am mistaken. It would be very difficult for this girl to not be in contact with her family since her Father is a teacher here and her brother attends here as a student. I shall owl Mr. Giles at the Council to ask his opinion and clarification on this matter. In the mean time, Abigail, Mr. Braceton-Milboune will act as your Watcher. You will treat him with respect and he will assist you with your training.'

Abby sat back down in her chair and slouched down in it defeated. "Yes Sir." Then added, "Could you ask him not to inform my Father or Auntie Dawn?"

"I don't know about your Aunt Dawn, but I will request that he not inform your Father."

"Thank you Sir."Abby replied quietly.

"And Mr. Braceton-Milboune, you will accept young Mr. Potter's assistance in your training. I will not accept no for an answer."

"Yes Headmaster, I understand, thank you sir." Mr. Braceton-Milboune replied. He then reached over to his satchel and pulled out a pair of bracelets and handed them to Abby. "These bracelets are charmed to notify you when we will be training. Put one on and give one to your brother. Wear it at all times."

Abby took the bracelets, placed one on her wrist and place the other in her book bag. She then glared at the man that was now her Watcher from her seat. She wondered about this strange man and about how he could be a Watcher and not know about her Mum. He was dressed in a very expensive muggle suit, tweed of course. His shirt was tailored to fit and had golden cufflinks to accent the cuffs. His tie was perfectly knotted and every hair on his head was perfect. She started to giggle when she remembered her Mum's description of her old Watchers, "A bunch of old men dressed in tweed." She was still giggling when the she left the room at the Headmaster's dismissal, leaving the two men staring at her departing form in confusion.


	16. Chapter 16

**Going to a Party**

**Part 1The Invitation**

_Goin' to a party,_

_Meet me out after school._

_Well we go to a place _

_Where the jive is really cool._

_California Man, The Move, written by Roy Wood_

Her body ached. She had forgotten how vigorous a Slayer's training was, but she didn't regret a minute of it. She was the child of two heroes; she wasn't going to sit on the sidelines whilst some nefarious bad guy threatened her family, her Father's protests to the contrary. Still, between her extra training and her hyperactive little sisters, she was run ragged. Her sisters had taken it in their heads to get her to like Nanny Padma. So in order to accomplish that task, they dragged her to every football game and cricket practice they had lined up. She had to admit that it was working as she had started to develop a grudging respect for the Indian Nanny, but it still ran her ragged. That was why today was her day to recuperate. Her trainers had given her the afternoon off and her Father had taken her sisters the doctor's for a follow up on Eleanor's broken arm. Father was taking them because it as Nanny Padma's rare day off.

She felt then that a nice long hot bath would do the trick. She flipped through the records in her bedroom, looking for the right music to set the mood and finding what she needed in Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain. She placed it on the turntable and magically amplified it to her bathroom. She quickly stripped out of her clothes and slipped into a robe. In the bathroom she started the bath water, adjusting the temperature to her liking. She then lit the mood candles that lined the bathroom sink to help her relax. She was all set to enter the bath when a tapping on the bathroom window interrupted her mood. She gave a heavy sigh, tightened the belt of her robe and walked over to the window. She opened it and let in a rather large but impatient owl with an envelope attached to his leg. "I hope you don't expect me to give you a treat." She quipped to the owl. The owl just glared at her, sticking out his leg. "Alright, alright, I'll take your message." She untied the envelope from his leg and shooed him off, shutting the window as he flew away. She glanced at the addressee named on the envelope; it was addressed specifically to her. She wondered if it could have been from David, but shook her head realizing that David would be more likely to send a muggle post, especially since he was travelling with his very muggle cousin. She sat down on the toilet and fingered the envelope open. It was an invitation to the annual Voldemort Victory Dance. This was the first time she received an individual invitation, usually she was included in her parents' invitation. That was when it hit her, all the grief that she had buried for the past month came back to her in an instant, overwhelming her. Her Mum would not be here to help her get ready for the dance. No mother-daughter bonding over dress buying, endless pictures before hand and no hand holding afterwards, after everything crashed and burned. Her mum wouldn't be there with a cup of hot cocoa for her to help cheer her up. She broke down crying, not realizing that she placed the envelope on top of one of the candles she had lit. Luckily for her Padma had just returned from the apothecary.

Padma was anxious about her first solo trip to Diagon Alley since her annulment from Terry and she began working for the Potters. She wasn't sure what the reaction would be if she would run into some old friends at the apothecary. Normally she would go during the week with the twins, muting much of the reaction since the apothecary was less crowded at that time. But today, Harry was taking the girls to Susan Bones' surgery to check up on young Eleanor's broken arm. So she couldn't hide behind the girls today. She sighed and steeled herself to go forward. The one thing she did look forward to was lunch with Narcissa Malfoy, which was an odd thing. Twenty years ago if someone told her that she would be looking forward to having lunch with the wife of a known Death Eater, she would have laughed. But now, she saw it as a chance to find out more about her benefactor and to meet with someone who wouldn't judge her.

She flooed into the Leaky Cauldron and started to make her way to the apothecary. As she was walking to apothecary, she noticed a large number of mail owls in the sky. At first she thought it was Hogwarts letters, but realized that it was much too soon for that. She shrugged and went into the apothecary, a mystery to figure out later. The apothecary was even more crowded than she remembered from the last weekend she ventured out on six years ago. As the wife of a high level government minister, she had plenty of time during the week to do her shopping, with weekends filled with social occasions and more than willing house elves to help out with emergencies. Now, she just had herself and of course, Harry and his children. She walked up to the counter, finding a bit of her sister's courage, ready to get her scripts filled. It was then that she noticed one of Percy Weasley's girls behind the counter. She cleared her throat to get the girl's attention and then greeted her.

"Hello Terry, I didn't know you were working here."

The girl looked up from her work and smiled at Padma. "Oh, hello Mrs. Boot, yeah I've been working here since Christmas Holiday. My Dad told my sister and me that we needed to start earning a living since we weren't going to a Muggle university. So he set me up with an apprenticeship with my Aunt Ginny and Kira went to work in the Ministry with Dad. I'd rather be working here than at the Ministry. I just couldn't stand to be cooped up behind a desk again. So, how can I help you today Mrs. Boot?"

"I need these potions refilled." She presented the scripts to the girl and held her breath as the girl checked them over. The girl was just about to process them when she paused and looked back up at Padma.

"Um, Mrs. Boot, these last two scripts are for Uncle Harry."

Padma sighed and let out the breath she was holding. She knew that this might occur; she has just hoped get through this process without too much drama. "It's alright dear, I work for Harry now. If you check your records, you'll see that I have permission to get these filled for him."

She could see that the girl was still having problems, so Padma suggested that she might wish to contact her Aunt to double check. So Tara went to get her Aunt Ginny and returned with her a few minutes later. Ginny recognized her immediately, gave her a friendly smile and chased her niece away. "Go work on these other scripts Terry. I'll fill these for Mrs. Boot." The girl pouted and began to protest but a look from her Aunt quelled her objections and she went off to help out other customers. Ginny turned her attention to Padma, smiling, she asked, "Hello Padma how's Harry?"

Padma frowned, did she really want to know about Harry or did maybe she heard her wrong and she was asking about Terry. Deciding that she was talking about Harry, she replied "Alright, I guess, still a bit depressed over his wife's death and rather overwhelmed by two hyperactive little girls. Um, you were asking about Harry, right?"

Ginny, still smiling, nodded. "Yes, I was asking about Harry." But before she could comment any more, she was interrupted by a rather loud squeal from her niece. All their attention turned to her. Ginny asked her, "What's the matter, dear?"

The girl blushed at the attention from all the customers in the store. "Sorry, Aunt Ginny, it's just my first solo invitation to the Victory Day Celebration Dance. It's all rather exciting." The reactions from the customers varied as to their age: the younger ones sighing in remembrance of their first invite, while the older ones, the ones Padma's age or a bit older a flash of pain in remembrance of lost loved ones. For Padma, it was one of indifference. She had not planned on going to this year's celebration as it would be too awkward mingling in the same crowd as her ex-husband. At least this explained the sudden appearance of all those post owls. It took awhile to settle the Weasley girl down from the excitement of her invite. Ginny then went to work on Padma's scripts. However, she stopped in the middle of her work and walked over to Padma.

"Is there a problem Ginny?" Padma asked.

"Er, yes, yes there is. " Ginny answered. She took the scripts over to Padma. "See, this one is for a pain potion and this script is for a dreamless sleep potion. You really shouldn't mix the two together."

Padma sighed, mentally swearing at Sue Bones for not spelling out the girls first names on the scripts. "The pain potion is for Eleanor for her broken arm. The other is for Emily. Apparently, Eleanor's pain affects Emily's dreams."

Ginny looked at her in surprise. "Really? I've never heard of twins being so empathic before. Fred and George never were and neither are Kira and Terry nor Art and Ron."

Padma shrugged "It's the first time for me too and I'm also a twin. But it's probably one of the least unusual things about Harry's family."

Ginny frowned. "It's that damn woman's fault. If it wasn't for her, I'm sure Harry's kids would be normal little witches and wizards."

Padma laughed. "Ginny, nothing Harry does is normal. I'm sure if he would have married one of us, unusual things would happen. Now can you please not speak any more ill of the dead and fill my scripts for me. I have a lunch date with Lady Malfoy."

Ginny shook her head. "Alright, but that's another thing. In a sane world that woman would be in Azgaban."

Padma just sighed quietly and let Ginny fill her scripts. She really didn't understand the hostility towards her patrons, well at least the dead one anyway. She could definitely see the reasons for the hostility towards Lady Malfoy. But such thoughts could wait for another day; right now she needed to get back to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. Her scripts now filled, Padma paid for them and quickly left the apothecary.

On the way towards the Leaky Cauldron, Padma spotted a street vendor selling cute little wrist bracelets. Even though she was running late, she stopped to take a look at her wares. Something about them caught her eye and made her think of the twins. After a minute, she found what she was looking for: two little bracelets with little unicorn charms. "How much are these bracelets?" She asked the old woman selling the trinkets.

The old woman studied Padma for a moment, and then replied "6 sickles each."

"I'll take them both." She dished out the money from her purse and handed it to the old woman, who handed the trinkets to Padma.

"Thank you, my dear." The old woman replied, with a toothless grin.

"You're welcome." Satisfied with her purchase, Padma headed on to her lunch date with Lady Malfoy, not noticing the disappearance of the old lady who was standing there moments before.

Lunch began on a quiet note as Padma described her daily affairs to Lady Malfoy, who smiled and nodded at her descriptions. They were about half way through their meals when disaster struck. Her Ex-husband barged into the Tavern and made his way straight to their table.

"There you are. I've been looking all over for you. It's time for you to come home."He exclaimed while reaching over the table as if to grab her.

She backed away from him, staring at him as if he were a madman. "What are you talking about Terry? Our marriage has been annulled; I don't live with you anymore."

"That annulment is a sham. No court would recognize it. You will come with me back to our house like a good little witch." He growled out, reaching out and finally grasping her arm.

She broke away from him and then slapped him. "Please don't touch me anymore, Terry. I don't belong to you."

Terry felt his cheek with his hand, anger crossing his face. He reached for his wand to curse her only to find his wrist clenched in a vise-like grip by Lady Malfoy.

"Unless you wish for your wrist and your wand to be broken, I would advise you to leave quietly." Lady Malfoy whispered in a dangerous voice.

Terry glared at her, but could not break free of her grip. "Alright, I'll leave. But this isn't over, dear Padma and you Malfoy, I would be very careful about who you threaten right now. Your advocate is dead and all the protection that provided gone with it."

Lady Malfoy snorted. "If you think my protection ended with the death of Mrs. Potter, you are sadly mistaken. I have the Council's full backing and support, along with everything that goes with it. So unless you wish a full fledge fight with the Council, I would advise you to back off. Go crawl back into you hole and do not bother us again." Then she plucked his wand from his robe and released his arm from her viselike grip, causing him to stumble.

"What are you going to do with my wand?" He asked with fear in his eyes.

"Nothing, for now but I will snap it if you don't leave within the next two minutes. I will make sure that your wand will be returned to you after I have ascertained that you have honored your word."

He glared at the two of them, straightened his robe and exited the pub without a word.

Lunch left Padma with more questions than answers. She wondered what the Council held over the Wizarding World that left her ex-husband speechless. She wondered again about her late benefactor, one Mrs. Harry Potter. Just the mere threat of her name sent shivers throughout the pub. Had she missed something all these years in her own secluded little world? Lady Malfoy was not very forthcoming with answers either. As soon as Terry left the pub, she continued with lunch as if nothing happened. Aggravated, Padma politely thanked Lady Malfoy for lunch and rose to begin her departure to the Potter house. Lady Malfoy put a hand on her arm to stop her.

"Wait, I know you are upset with me and that I have left you with more questions than answers. I do not mean to be obtuse but this is not the time or the place to fully answer your questions. I can come over to the house tonight to better explain myself, if that is alright with you?"

Padma sighed, her aggravation abating a bit, "I suppose that would be okay, as long as Harry doesn't mind."

Lady Malfoy smiled "Good. I look forward to it and to seeing my young granddaughters again. One more thing, are you planning on going to the Ball?"

Padma approached the Potter house, Lady Malfoy's last question ruminating in her head, when she saw the smoke coming from the Potter house. She rushed quickly into the house hoping to find the source and put it out before Harry returned. She ran up the stairs to the third landing and suddenly found herself outside of Sarah's bathroom. That would have been okay except for the fact that Sarah's bathroom did not open into the hallway. She was confused but since the source of the smoke in the house seemed to be coming from said bathroom, she ignored her confusion, knocked lightly on the door and entered with her wand held to the ready after getting no response from her knock except the sound of a sobbing young woman. She quickly extinguished the flames and dissipated the smoke. That done, she turned her attention to her eldest charge.

The young woman in question looked up from her seat, her sobbing stilled, noticing for the first time the overpowering smell of wax and burnt parchment and her now present nanny. "How did you get here?"

Padma smiled "Through the door."

Sarah frowned, "That's not what I meant."

"Oh, you mean how I found your bathroom, I don't know. One minute, I was running up the stairs and the next I found myself outside your bathroom door."

Sarah nodded. "Right that makes sense, the house wanted you to find me. Wouldn't be the first time, it happened to Mum all the time. Though there were a few times it kept me hidden from her."

This time Padma frowned. "You speak as though the house is alive."

"Well it is, sort of. I mean it has a will of its own. It's a magic unto itself."

Padma smiled and shook her head. "Just one more thing from this crazy family. Now then, would you like some tea? Since it is obvious that your bath is ruined, perhaps you could tell me what has got you so upset."

Sarah sighed. Padma was right, her bath was ruined. "Alright, give me fifteen minutes to get dressed and I'll join you for a spot of tea."

Fifteen turned into to thirty because while Sarah was getting dressed, her mobile rang. She checked the number and it was her best friend, Terry Weasley. Sarah sighed and answered the phone, knowing her friend would keep calling until she answered.

"Did you get your invite, Sarah girl?" Terry asked with excitement.

"You mean the invite for the Victory Ball? The one for June 12th?" Sarah replied with a hint of sarcasm.

Sarah had to hold the phone away from her ear as her friend answered with a triumphant squeal. "Yes, you did get the invite."

"Was I not supposed to get an invite?" She asked her friend.

"I just assumed that you would, give that it's our first year on our own. I haven't been able to get through to you with an owl and I wasn't able to call until I got off of work and…"

Sarah laughed. "You are babbling, my friend. Sorry about not returning any of your owls, things have been a bit hectic around here with the twins. "It was only a partial lie, the twins have made things hectic but not for the reasons her friend probably thought. Anyway, with her training schedule she had been too exhausted to catch up with her friend.

"So are you going to the Dance?" Terry asked her.

"I don't know. For one thing I don't have a date." Sarah replied.

"What happened to David? I thought for sure that he would take you this year." Terry asked

Sarah sighed "He's run off his cousin to play detective on the continent with his Aunt and Uncle."

"Pfft, you don't need him anyway. We'll all go together, us three: you, me and Kira. There will be all these eligible young wizards to choose from."

Sarah was confused at the change in friend's attitude. "But I thought you were pretty steady with Byron?"

"Byron was so last week." Terry replied off-handedly.

"Kira stole him from you."Sarah shot back.

"No. We still have that pact we made fifth year: We don't steal each other's boyfriend. He dumped me for some sixteen year old Ravenclaw student." Terry moaned.

"Ugh, it sounds bad girl. You know what the cure is don't you?"Sarah replied sympathetically.

"Yeah, chocolate, shopping and more chocolate."

They both laughed.

"So are you going?" Terry asked again.

Sarah sighed again. "I don't know, Ter. It's awfully soon after the funeral. I just don't know if I am ready for crowds of people."

"Look Sarah-girl, it will be loads of fun. Don't worry about the crowds, Kira and I will be there to back you up. It'll be just like seventh year Yule Ball: taking names and breaking hearts. You know you want to go." Her friend cajoled.

Sarah smiled to herself as she remembered that dance. David had a date that wasn't them and none of the other boys wanted to ask her because they were afraid of her father. It was just over a year ago, yet it seemed like ages. She must have zoned out for a bit as she soon heard Terry calling out for her.

"Sarah, are you still there? Do you need intervention?"Terry asked with worry in her voice.

"No, no, I'm okay, just spaced out for a moment. Alright, I'll go the Dance, now is it going to be robes, dresses or a bit of both?"

She sat down for tea in a pensive mood. She had now committed herself to going to the ball, but she needed a new dress and some new dress robes. The melancholy feeling that came over her when she received the invite now threatened to take over again as she faced the prospect of shopping for these things without her Mum. Nanny Padma noticed her mood and inquired about it.

"Why the long face?" she asked as she poured out the tea into their cups.

"Oh, Terry Weasley talked me into going to the ball and now I need to go shopping for a new dress, new dress robes and possibly new shoes." Sarah replied.

Padma gave her a confused look, not understanding the source of the problem since obviously the Potters were well off and could easily afford the cost of these new items. "So why is this a problem?" She asked.

Sarah looked up at Padma and the tears that she thought she was done with started falling from her eyes. "It's just that I've never really done this without Mum. " She sniffed. "Damn, I really shouldn't be doing this again. I should be over this." She felt like a lost little girl again, missing her Mum so much. Padma surprised the girl by getting up and wrapping her in a hug. Sarah just cried on her shoulder while Padma made soothing sounds and rubbed circles on her back. Finally Sarah was able to control her sobs, looking up at Padma, asked "Isn't it supposed to get easier?"

Padma looked at the girl incredulously, "Why should it be easy to forget someone you loved so much? Perhaps with time the pain will ease, but the grief will probably remain. Though, you probably won't be setting the house on fire." She pulled out a hankie and gave to the girl.

Sarah wiped her face and gave her a watery smile. "Thanks for the hankie and for being here. I promise not to set the house on fire again. But maybe I should call Terry back and tell her I changed my mind."

Padma frowned, "No need for that. The poor girl nearly had a heart attack at her Aunt's shop this morning. If you cancel, Merlin knows what that child would do. No, the solution is obvious. I could help you with your shopping."

Sarah looked at her in surprise. "Really, you would do this for me? You don't look like the shopping type. Though I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, Abby doesn't look like the type of girl who likes to shop either, but she could keep up with Mum and me. Mum used to say it was genetic, summers' women are born to shop and I'm babbling aren't I?

Padma smiled. "It's alright dear, I understand. After all, I wasn't always a dowdy witch pushing forty. So do you have a date planned for all of this shopping or does the hidden house elf just get these things for you?"

Sarah looked at her in confusion, "House elf? We haven't had a house elf since Doby died."

"Just teasing, dear, though with all the magic this house possesses it's easy to be confused."

"Right then, a date…" Sarah pondered this for a few moments when all of a sudden the calm of their tea was interrupted by the whirlwind presence of her two little sisters and her Father. Her Father waved at her good-naturedly, while her two little sisters commenced to babble like excitable little twitter birds. Her father gave her a funny look as he recalled her last words.

"A date, Sarah?" He repeated.

Sarah blushed, "Not that kind of a date, Daddy. A date to go shopping with Nanny Padma for gowns and things for the Dance in two weeks."

Her father frowned, while her two younger sisters became even more excited at the prospect of a Dance. Sarah noticed his frown and asked "What's the matter, Daddy?"

He waved her off, "It is nothing dear, just thinking about my own garb to wear. Anyway, if you are going shopping for clothes, you might as well bring your sisters."

Sarah pouted even as her sisters started twittering about shopping. "But Daddy…"

"Don't you dare use your pout on me young lady! It didn't work for your mother and it certainly won't work for you. Your sisters need new summer clothes for when we go on Holiday." Her father replied with a grin.

This time Sarah frowned. "Holiday? Are we still going to America on Holiday?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, your grandfather won't take kindly to not seeing all of his lovely grandchildren. He needs to see you." Left unsaid was the reason why he needed to see them.

"Are we taking Nanny Padma with us on Holiday?" asked Eleanor, worrying her bottom lip, a bit fearful of the answer, as their grandfather had yet to meet their nanny.

"Of course we are, she is part of the family now." Harry replied with a grin.

A whoop of cheer was let out by the twins. Nanny Padma blushed; this was not what she expected when she took on this position. She just hoped that nothing happens to these children. As an afterthought, Nanny Padma reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out a small package. Addressing the twins, she presented the box to them. "Here's something I picked up for you on my travels today."

The girls opened the box and cooed over the lovely charm bracelets contained within. "Can you help us put it on?" The girls asked their sister and nanny in unison.

Smiling, both nodded in agreement, reaching out and clasping the delicate bracelet and putting it onto the wrist of each twin.

Meanwhile in a secluded cave in Scotland, a wizard approached a demon. He fell to one knee and spoke. "My Lord, the teleportation devices are now in the hands of all the Potter children. They await only your word to activate, though I still don't understand the need for his children."

The demon growled. "Then you are a fool. Did you not hear the prophecy? Do you not understand the reason for the children is because of her. You wizards are so caught up in your own world that you forget that the world is much larger than you are. She is the key; if she did not exist then this prophecy would not exist."

The wizard grumbled a complaint under his breath but out loud, spoke "I have kept my part of the bargain. When will you deliver my wife back to me? I'm afraid if she stays with Potter any longer her backbone will grow so stiff that I won't be able to beat her back into submissiveness."

"After the ritual, all shall be right; you will get your just reward." The demon replied cryptically.

The wizard sighed, "I suppose can wait two more weeks. I have already waited two months. Then I will show them all. The Rule of Law will prevail again and I shall be merciful and generous when I become Minister of Magic."


	17. Chapter 17

**Going to a Party**

**Part 2 Prep and Party**

Dinner that evening was a lively affair. The girls' Auntie Faith dropped by and the twins rattled on a mile a minute relaying all the excitement of the upcoming shopping trip as well as the visit to Doc Susan's surgery. Padma, Harry and Sarah were all trying to hide their amusement at poor Faith's predicament, though she seemed to take it all in stride and with a good nature. While the twins were lavishing Faith with the day's exploits, Sarah and Padma agreed that the Friday before the dance would be the best day to go shopping. That was best day for Padma, who had no desire to repeat today's experience and also the twins would be done with primary for the school year, so they had the whole day for shopping. That in itself was worrisome enough for Padma. She was never much for shopping and clothes that was her sister's thing. Perhaps she could bring her along, an extra set of hands to hold packages and extra set of eyes to watch out for the girls. Thinking about her sister reminded her of her lunch with Lady Malfoy.

"Um, Harry? Did I mention that Lady Malfoy was coming by sometime after dinner?" Padma mentioned nervously. Lady Malfoy wasn't the easiest person to get along with and she did wonder how Harry would accept the news. But it wasn't Harry who had the reaction, it was Faith. She watched her sputter on her drink, almost choking.

"The Ice Queen is coming here tonight?"Faith asked. Padma nodded. "Sh-Shucks, then I better make myself scarce. Me and the Ice Queen don't get along. B was the only who could put up with Miss High and Mighty."

Harry laughed "You never get along with the older ones, Faith. Why should Narcissa be any different?"

Faith shrugged "I don't know. She always bugged me more than the others. Maybe 'cause she thought her stuff didn't stink."

Padma watched the exchange in confusion. Who or what were the older ones? But she quickly hid her confusion and decided to ask Lady Malfoy later when she came by. She had another question for Faith, her curiosity piqued now, "Faith, why are you still here? Aren't you supposed to be based in America?"

Faith laughed, "What, not enjoying my fine conversational skills?"

Padma blushed and shook her head, "No, it is not that. I was just curious, is all."

Faith nodded. "I get that. Anyway, it's because of Rule No. 5: She who dreamt it must deal with it. Meaning I'm here until this whole thing plays out."

Padma looked confused again. "Rule Number 5? What's Rule Number 1?"

The whole table chorused together, "Don't Die!" The twins started to giggle after their response, while Harry looked away, a pained expression on his face with Sarah looking at him in sympathy and Faith grinning like a Cheshire. "Ya see, B had these rules, I swear she made them up as she went along, anyway, they were the rules for slaying since she never had a handbook. So she came up with the Rules for Slaying and number one is always: Don't Die."

Padma sighed, these rules made no sense to her, but then again she wasn't a Slayer. Supper ended after pudding, with Faith saying her goodbyes for the night, Padma went to draw the twins' bath and get them ready for bed. Lady Malfoy was due at 8 and Padma wanted to be sure the girls were in their nightgowns so that Harry and Lady Malfoy could tuck them in and kiss them each good night.

Narcissa was early, she had wanted to corner Faith about the girls' security but as always that woman seemed to disappear before she even came by. She knew that she did not get along with Faith, but she thought that for the children they might be able to put aside their differences and work together. She sighed; it was her own fault really. If she hadn't tried so hard to be different those many years ago, but then she really couldn't change who she was and how she was brought up. Women like Faith she scorned in her previous life and when her life turned upside down she found it difficult to change. She reached out to Buffy because she had saved her life. Buffy was the only one to offer to tutor her on her new skills. She was also the only one who seemed to empathize with her. She quickly shrugged off her disappointment and rose on the stairs to the girls' bedroom to tuck them in for the night.

After tucking the twins in (and getting rooked into telling them a bedtime story) she paused in front of Sarah's room. It had been several years since she had tucked Sarah in, she had developed into a beautiful young woman. She reminded Narcissa so much of a young Lilly Potter. She didn't dwell too much on that thought, her own guilt and complicity in those days still gnawed at her when she did. She knocked on Sarah's door.

"Come in." Came out from the other side.

Narcissa entered and found Sarah sitting on her a bed, a book in her hands.

"Oh. Hello, Grandma Nissa." Sarah said looking up from her book. "Is everything alright?"

Narcissa smiled, after all these years Sarah still referred to her the same way she did when she was three. "Yes dear, everything is fine. Did you get your invite today?"

Sarah frowned, "Yes and damned well near burnt down the house when I got it."Narcissa, curious, waited for an explanation. "I received it while I was getting ready for a bath and knocked over one of the candles onto the invitation whilst in the middle of crying jag. Luckily, Nanny Padma arrived in the nick of time to keep me from burning down the house. That would have really ruined Father's day."

Narcissa walked over and gave the girl a sympathetic hug "Poor Dear, It must be hard to do these things without your Mother. Still, are you going to the Dance?"

The girl sighed, "Yes, Tara Weasley talked me into it. Will I see you there?"

"Of course you will, my dear. Who will keep your Father from being overwhelmed by all those single witches out there?"

This elicited a giggle from her adopted granddaughter, then a frown. "Do you think Father will be alright?"

"Your Father is made of sterner stuff than you think, my dear. He will make it through this Dance. But what about you, my dear? Who will take you to the Dance? Perhaps young Mr. Todros?"

"Nope. He's too busy chasing antiquity thieves across the Continent. No, I'm going with Tara and Kira, just like last year for the Yule Ball." Sarah said proudly.

Narcissa frowned, "Surely there must be some eligible young man willing to take you to the dance?

Sarah shrugged. "I've been away at Uni the whole year and lost track of most everyone else. Besides, Daddy would probably just scare them away. This way if I meet someone at the Dance, Daddy won't get a chance to scare him away until after the party."

Narcissa laughed. "My dear girl, you should have been in Slytherin with logic like that."

Sarah smiled and then yawned, "Sorry Grandma N'ssa, my training schedule is getting the best of me."

"That's alright, dear. Good night." She kissed her adopted granddaughter good night and left her room to find Padma.

That Friday couldn't come soon enough for the twins, who were practically bouncing in anticipation of the shopping trip. Padma had brought her sister along for an expert eye as well as extra protection. Sarah was a bit shy around the newcomer, not having met Padma's sister before. She was surprised to find out that her sister was a twin (of course if she would have paid attention to little sisters' babble she would have know this.) She was even more surprised when the woman wrapped her in a hug and said "It's great to finally see you again up close and personal."

"When did I see you before?" Sarah asked Padma's twin.

"When you were a babe in your mother's arms, you were just a babe. I stopped Pansy Parkinson from hexing you and your mother." Parvati replied.

Sarah remembered now the story her mother told her of the witch who saved their lives when they first appeared in the Wizarding world. "Right then, first to Harrods, then on to Diagon Alley." She grabbed one twin and Padma grabbed the other as they apparated away to an alley nearby the huge department store.

Padma and Parvati were overwhelmed by the size and selection available at the large store but Padma's sister seemed to recover quickly in the face of all that fashion, while Padma just tried to shrink into the background. Sarah noticed this and quickly moved to assuage her fears. "It's alright Nanny Padma, with all these shopping mavens, you can't go wrong."

The older woman gave Sarah a wan smile "I know, I have gone shopping with my sister before, it is just that there are so many choices. How can you even begin to make a decision?"

Sarah smirked, "That's easy, just keep trying stuff on until you find something that looks good on you. When you find that looks good on you, you buy it, easy as pie."

"But what if you find more than one thing?"

"Again, not a problem: you just buy that too."

"But surely you can't buy everything. How can you afford it?" Padma asked

"Two words: Trust Fund. Grandfather set up trust funds for Mum, Auntie Dawn and every one of us kids. Plus Daddy makes a pretty decent salary as a teacher and of course, Mum as the head of the Council drew a nice salary too. Still both of those salaries pale compared to Grandfather's Trust Funds." Sarah explained.

Padma though, was just as confused but shrugged it off as one of those things to ask Harry later. She seemed to be acquiring a lot of questions to ask Harry later.

After going through several gowns, Sarah found the perfect dress: it was the perfect shade of blue, just dark enough to complement her auburn locks and fit enough to show off all of her curves. She just knew that this dress would leave the boys speechless. The entourage approved, with her sisters cat calling and the knowing grins from Nanny Padma and her sister. Next on the list was to get Nanny Padma some decent resort wear for the Summer Holiday as well as a new bathing suit. That project wasn't too hard; Nanny Padma did have a fairly good fashion sense, despite the dowdy clothes she wore around the house. Nanny Padma's sister helped too, giving her a few hints on accessories and shoes. The hardest thing with Nanny Padma was finding a decent bathing suit. They finally settled on an attractive one piece that was conservative enough for an older woman but still showed enough skin to highlight Nanny Padma's features.

By now, the twins were practically bouncing in their seats. They were next and they knew it. Unfortunately for the adults, the twins needed everything since they outgrew the previous season's clothes. But as much as the little girls liked shopping, they were still very young and the excitement of trying on and selecting new clothes made them very excitable and thus made it hard to get them to try on anything since they flitted from rack to rack finding pretty things that they liked but couldn't stand still long enough to try them on. It took the combined effort of Sarah, Nanny Padma and Parvati to finally get the girls to stand still long enough to try on their new clothes. They finally settled on several pretty little sun dresses for the summer as well as new shorts, tops, jeans and bathing suits. Thus purchases wrapped, bagged and paid for, the group headed out of Harrods and towards Diagon Alley.

The adults were exhausted from their shopping excursion and needed some sort of sustenance in order to finish the trip. Padma suggest ice cream and everyone agreed. So they headed over as one to Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, ordered ice cream sundaes for everyone and then sat back to relax and recuperate before they shopped anymore. On their way to the ice cream parlor, Padma hung back for a pace: she had a feeling that they were being followed. She thought if she could hang back a bit she could catch their tail. She mentioned this to Sarah earlier, but Sarah dismissed it as nothing but a Slayer protection squad that her Auntie Faith had provided. Padma wasn't so sure but since she couldn't disprove this theory, she let it go, except for now when she thought she might catch their tail unaware. But whoever was tailing them did not make an appearance when she hung back, leaving Padma frustrated as well as tired. She hated mysteries except of course for the intellectual challenge involved in solving them. It was during this ice cream break that Eleanor and Emily made their rather odd statement about their mum not being dead, but just on a long trip. Padma knew that Harry had explained to the girls that their mother was dead, yet the twins seemed to know something or rather felt something. Padma wasn't sure what to believe anymore, Faith had told her that the twins were right, that their mother wasn't really dead. But this didn't sit well with Padma, either you were dead or you were alive in her book and if the girls' mum was alive, where was she? Why wasn't she here? Padma felt the need to correct the girls but left it to Sarah to try to explain again how their mother was dead. All of this caused a bit of row between the girls. Luckily Parvati was there to help relieve the tension; she interrupted the girl's row by telling twins that their mum would want them to hear a story.

"A story? What kind of a story?" Eleanor asked warily.

"Why a story about your father's first date, ever." Parvati replied.

Sarah looked at the woman with skepticism. "His very first date with mum?"

"Nope. His very first date from way back when he was at Hogwarts."

Padma laughed, "You mean the worst date ever."

"Exactly."

The three sisters looked confused; obviously Nanny Padma's sister shared a story with their nanny but not with them. "Go on then, do tell." Sarah said.

Parvati proceeded to tell her story "It was back in Fourth Year, when your Dad was competing in the TriWizard Tournament. There was a Yule Ball and the person your father was going to ask-"

"Our mum?" Eleanor cut in.

Parvati laughed, "No, he didn't even know your Mum at that point. No, it was Madam Davies, though she went by Cho Chang at that time. Your Dad had the biggest crush on her. Anyways, she was already asked by someone else to go the Ball. So your Dad still needed a date and didn't have one as the Ball date approached. So he finally asked me and arranged for your Uncle Ron to take my sister."

"But why didn't he take Aunt Hermione?" Emily asked.

"Because she was going with someone else. So we go to the Ball with our dates, who promptly ignore us the whole time, your dad spent the whole time staring at Cho and your Uncle Ron got into a big row with your Aunt Hermione. So we both ended up dancing with some boys from France."

The girls laughed at Parvati's story, questions about their mum's mortality or lack of it forgotten in the story. Padma heaved a quiet sigh of relief, finished her ice cream and then herded the group on to Madam Maulkin's to finish up their shopping.

The day of the Ball was soon upon them sending the household into a frenzy trying to Sarah ready for the evening. The twins kept flittering back and forth between Sarah's room and the music room driving the girl mad with their endless questions and commentary. Finally Sarah had had enough. She bellowed out "would you two please leave me in peace for a minute! How can I expect to get dressed in time if you two keep interrupting me?"

The girls looked up at Sarah apologetically and replied in unison, "We're sorry, Sarah."

Then Eleanor continued, "But it is all so brilliant. Getting ready for a ball just like Cinderella in the fairy stories Mum used to read to us. We didn't get to see you get ready last year when you went to your dance while you were away at school and it was a lot less exciting for last year's dance since you just went with Mum and Dad. Please let us help?" She looked up at Sarah with those big puppy dog eyes.

Sarah frowned, "Oh, alright, you can stay. But try to keep the questions to minimum, okay?"

"Alright Sarah, thanks." The girls replied in unison.

Sarah shivered, she could swear that they did that twin thing just to unnerve her, and continued on with her preparations for the Dance. She was just about ready when Nanny Padma finally came upstairs, chased her two young charges away and offered to help finish her up.

"Thanks, Nanny Padma. Could you get the zipper on the back of my dress?" Sarah asked her Nanny.

"Sure, I can do that. What about that necklace that you've been wearing all month?"

"Yes, please. That would be so helpful."

Padma zipped the back of Sarah's dress and fixed the clasp on the back of the necklace. "There. All finished. Give it a twirl and let us see what the finished product looks like."

Sarah smiled, stepped away slightly from Padma and twirled around, showing of her dress and hair.

"You look perfect my dear, a vision in blue. I'm sure you'll have all the boys tripping over themselves to fill up your dance card." Padma said, beaming at the young woman. "Your friends will be here any minute. Your Father is waiting downstairs to see you off."

Sarah looked up at Padma earnestly, "Do you think I'll meet someone?" She paused, and then continued. "You know someone special."

Padma shrugged "Who knows? These things usually work themselves out. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to find the perfect mate tonight. Just go out and enjoy yourself."

Sarah nodded in agreement, she would enjoy herself tonight. Padma grabbed Sarah's new summer cloak, wrapped it around her shoulders and escorted the young woman down the stairs.

Her Father and the twins were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. The two little girls cooed over Sarah and proceeded to snap pictures with their little cameras. Her father walked up to her gave her a warm smile and a tear forming in his eyes. He pulled her into a tight hug. Sarah whispered into ear, "Daddy, please. It's not like I'm getting married. It's just a ball."

"I know sweetheart. It's just that you look so grown up. Your Mum would be so proud of you."

Damn. He had to mention the "M" word. She was doing so well up to then. The doorbell rang saving Sarah from examining the emotions that word brought to deeply. It was the Weasley twins, Tara and Kira. They greeted Nanny Padma first with a confusing, at least for Sarah, "Hello, Mrs. Boot." It took Sarah a moment to connect Mrs. Boot with Nanny Padma. For Sarah, Nanny Padma looked so much different than that haunted trophy wife that her parents introduced to at the last two balls. The girls then greeted her Father. "Hello, Uncle Harry." Then they bent down to give Eleanor and Emily hugs. Introductions aside, Sarah made her exit from the house with admonishments from her Father to be home by one. Sarah waved it off and the three of them apparated to Uncle Percy's Summer Estate, where the ball had been held for the past several years.

The Estate was decked out in buntings and bows, the strains of an orchestra could be heard wafting from the house and crowds of people were milling around awaiting entrance to the Ball. A strange man greeted the trio and took their cloaks. They were then escorted to the main ballroom where their entrance was announced rather formally. Sarah noticed quite a few of her old classmates from Hogwarts were already in attendance, well the girls anyway. Most of her male classmates were conspicuous in their absence. That didn't mean that there were no boys, there were quite a few that were slightly older. Aunt Penny and Uncle Percy were there, of course. They were both rather glad to see her and kept their condolences to themselves, for which Sarah was grateful for.

Uncle Percy cleared his throat after their greeting to keep her attention. He then handed her a card, explaining "This is your Dance card, Sarah. If someone wishes to dance with you, he just taps your name on this list of debs and then his name appears on your card. You have to dance at least one dance with your chosen partner for the first hour. After that, you may pick and choose."

Sarah nodded nervously in understanding, but what if no one chose to dance with her? Uncle Percy seemed to feel her anxiety, patted her hand and motioned to her card. "If you look at your card, you'll see that I am your first dance and that your Father is your third. We conveniently left your second spot open for someone a bit younger than ourselves."

"Thank you, Uncle Percy." Sarah replied, flashing him a grateful smile. It turned out that she needn't have been too worried. Most of the boys attending were dying for a chance to meet her in a more neutral setting without the huge shadow of her father(who made a brief appearance dancing with her and the twins then leaving for the night) looming over their shoulder. After over two hours of dancing, music, crowds and conversation, she felt a strong need to escape. She remembered the veranda in the back of the mansion that looked out over the garden and fled there. The cool night air washed over her as she stepped out away from the ballroom and the party. A feeling of relief came over her. It was far enough away from the ballroom that noises of the dance faded into a light hum. She stood there on the veranda, leaning against the rail looking out upon the garden, admiring the hedge maze and breathing in the cool night air. It was really a beautiful late spring night, with starlight straining to overcome the flood of light from the household. All of a sudden, an overwhelming sense of melancholy took hold of Sarah. The memories of playing among the garden with her cousins while her Mum and Aunt Penny watched from this very same veranda. The yearly summer visits before they went on Holiday, the many play dates as young girl, and always her Mum lurking close by in the background, a watchful eye on a bright, energetic young girl. Sarah felt overwhelmed. It was all too much now: the dancing and the music and all of the people and most of all too many memories. 'How does Father stand it?' she wondered as stood there on the veranda, 'seeing us each and every day, a living reminder of her.' A sound from behind her breaks her brooding spell, she tenses and reaches for her wand that she has concealed on her arm, a little trick her father taught her, and waits poised to attack.

It's a man and he starts to clap. "Very impressive, Summers. Did you learn that from your Father?" She can't see his face because it is hidden in the shadows, but the voice sounds vaguely familiar. "Don't recognize me?" He asks, with a bit of a suggestive drawl.

"Should I? You're lucky I didn't hex you into oblivion. I still might." She answered defensively.

He considered that for a minute and then laughed, "Yes, I bet you would." He stepped out of the shadows and Sarah finally gets a chance to look him over: tall, broad shoulders, gray eyes and a face with a bit of a shadow. He is also wearing muggle tuxedo, but the bowtie is undone.

She squints hard trying to recognize his face, then it finally dawns on her "Anthony Morgan?" She asks with a touch of confusion, still not really sure if that is him. It has been a long time she had seen him last.

"In the flesh." He replies with a grin. He looks her over as if seeing her for the first time. "You've grown up nicely, Summers. Would you care for some champagne?" he reaches down and pulls out a bottle of champagne and two glasses.

Sarah blushes at his compliment and nods acceptance to the glass of champagne. She doesn't trust herself to speak, remembering now who exactly Anthony Morgan is. It was her first year at Hogwarts and the Headmaster had proclaimed a Yule ball. She was just a skinny little eleven year old but Anthony needed a date for the ball and asked her. Her Mum objected but strangely enough her father accepted. Anthony was a sixth year Slytherin boy but he had saved her from some renegade wizards trying to make trouble for her Mum. He was the boy to give her very first kiss.

She took the glass from him and took a sip. "thank you, Anthony. I didn't expect to find you here alone. I would have thought you married to some nice witch at this point."

He shrugged. "I've been busy with work. No real time for dating. Though I have thought about you from time to time. Though I thought you would be here with Todros.

Sarah blushed again but shook her head. "No, I am not attached to David. I came here with the Weasley girls. So what have you been doing with yourself?"

"I'm starting a new job on Monday. I will be the Liaison to the Council of Watchers. The witch who used to be the Liaison is retiring at the end of the month and my father arranged for me to take over. I don't know that much about them and information is hard to find. Do you know anything about them?"

Sarah choked on her champagne."Did you just ask me about the Council of Watchers?"

"Yes, that's right. Do you know anything about them?" He asked again, his curiosity piqued.

Sarah mentally groaned to herself, the boy she had been fantasizing about for the past seven year and all he wants to know about is the Council. She sighed, "What would you like to know?"

He gave her an odd look, "You know about the Council of Watchers?"

"Of course I know about the bloody Council of Watchers! My family is the Council of Watchers. My Aunt Dawn heads the day to day operation, my Grandpa is Chairman, my Aunts Willow and Hermione head up the Research department, Uncle Xander heads the Field Division, Auntie Faith is the Senior-"

He interrupted her rant with a kiss. At first, she protests a bit, knowing she's on a roll and wanting to continue her rant, but soon she give in to it, allowing his tongue purchase in her mouth. Definitely still toe tingling, she thinks. Finally they pause for air a few minutes later, both staring into each other's eyes. "You know, Anthony," She panted, trying to catch her breath. "I do have a first name."

He smiled broadly, "Really, Summers?" You'll have to teach it to me."

Sarah paused; she had not really thought too far ahead at this point but was more than willing to give in to the moment. She was sure her mother would have approved. She continued seductively. "Uh-huh, it's two syllables: Sar-"she kissed him in the pause "-ah" she finished breathlessly, kissing him again.

"Hmm, I think I can manage." He replied, "Sa-"he paused to kiss her, "ra-"another kiss, and finishing with "ah" and a final kiss.

Sarah was quite enjoying this little game, so she continued, "No, you've got it all wrong. It's only two syllables not three."Sarah corrected with a smile. "Sar-"She kissed him once more and finishing with "ah" and another kiss.

"Ah, I see my mistake now. Sar-"pausing to kiss her and then finishing with "-ah" and then kissing her again. "It all ends so pleasantly."

Sarah nodded, getting quite carried away now with passion. She pulled him into a kiss again, but this time allowing her hands to pull out his shirt and running her hands over his back and shoulders. He moved to unzip her dress and suddenly she pulled back, breathless. She put her hand on chest and gasped, "We need to stop."

He looked down at her in confusion, "You don't like?"

"Yes, I mean no, I like but this is going a bit too fast. It's all a bit too soon."

He thought for a moment, "Alright, what do you want to do?"

"Can we just cuddle for a bit?" Sarah asked shyly.

"Alright we can do that."

"Thank you, Anthony. Perhaps there will be time for this later if we go through with this."

"What is this?" He asked coyly.

"A relationship? Dating? I'm not sure; I haven't thought it through yet. But I'd be willing to try the relationship thing."

"Hmm, I think I can manage that. I've waited seven years for you to grow up, I can manage a relationship. How do you feel about the Opera?"

"I don't know. I've never been. Are you asking me out on a date?"

He grinned again, "Of course I am, Sarah. Unless you don't want to."

"No, the Opera sounds grand. I would love to see the Opera with you."

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"No, it wasn't. Now hold me." He wrapped her into a tight embrace and held her close. She breathed in his cologne and shampoo, a heady scent. Things would have been perfect if the night would have ended there. But trouble reared its ugly head. The air around the young couple started shimmering. She looked up at Anthony and sighed, "You better get your wand ready. We're going to need them." Holding him tight, they disappeared into the night.


	18. Chapter 18

In Search of the Lost Charge

Padma looked at her watch nervously. It was almost time for the girls to get out their art class. This weekend couldn't come fast enough for her. First of all, it was the weekend of the Dance and more importantly, it was also the weekend of the new moon. She just needs to make sure she stayed with Eleanor and Emily to keep them safe. She couldn't worry about Sarah, she could look after herself. But the twins were still very little girls. She shivered as she remembered Dawn and Mr. Giles explanation about how the children's blood could be used for a ritual sacrifice on the dawning of the new moon before the Summer Solstice. Before living with the Potters, she didn't put much stock in these types of ritualistic magic. But now, she was very aware and very nervous. She wasn't some mystical warrior; she was just a witch and now a nanny. Still, she would protect those girls with her very life. She checked her watch again. It was only a few minutes later than the last time she checked. The girls were supposed to be safe at school and here at this recreational center. At least that's what Mr. Giles and Dawn reassured her. They told her that the Council had a few slayers fill in as substitute teachers and instructors for the duration. Padma supposed that this made her feel a little bit safer, but she felt safer still when she was at Harry's house.

The more she thought about it, the more worked up she got. How could Harry fall in love with someone whose life and the lives of her children were in constant danger? Why couldn't he have married a nice, normal witch like for instance, herself? Except for the fact she was practically married to Terry immediately after leaving Hogwarts and Harry had finished with that whole destiny thing by defeating Voldemort. From there, he practically went into hiding in the Auror program. Padma's brooding was quickly short circuited by two small brown haired dynamos, waving papers in the air, showing off their latest art works, their new summer frocks aflutter in the wind and their voices loud with excitement.

"Nanny Padma, Nanny Padma!"The girls exclaimed in unison. Trailing behind the twins was a small, dark skinned little girl who looked to be about the twins' age.

"Who's your friend?" Padma asked Emily.

"Oh, this is Cynthia Jones. She invited us to her birthday party tomorrow afternoon." Emily explained

Eleanor pushed the other little girl forward to greet her. The little girl smiled shyly up at Padma. Eleanor nudged her again. The girl, Cynthia, glared back at her friend but responded to the prompt, "Hello Mrs. Potter, can Eleanor and Emily come to my birthday party tomorrow?" Three little girls were looking up at her with pleading eyes.

Padma blushed at being called Mrs. Potter and stood there dumbly, not really knowing how to respond.

Eleanor helped her out by whispering loudly in Cynthia's ear, "that's not my Mummy, that's my Nanny."

The little girl looked back at Eleanor in confusion "But I thought you said she was your new Mummy."

Eleanor shook her head, "No silly, I said new nanny not new mummy. Mummy is just away."

The girl still looked confused. A tall, thin, dark skinned man came by to interrupt their confusing conversation. "Cynthia, dear, it's time for us to go home." He called out.

Cynthia looked over her shoulder and shouted "Daddy!" She turned and ran to this newcomer who was waiting for with extended arms. She ran into his arms and he scooped her up. With his little girl in his possession, he walked over to Padma and extended a hand in greeting."Hello, I'm Thomas Jones. You must be the twin's new mother."

His daughter corrected him, "No Daddy, she is their new nanny."

Padma blushed and shook his hand. "Please to meet you, Mr. Jones." Then after a beat, "Um, I wonder, did you know Mrs. Potter?"

He laughed, "Yes, I knew her. She was a tiny thing, looked like a gusty wind would blow her over, but she did have quite a grip." Then on a more serious note, "I didn't realize that she had passed. I mean, I've seen you around for the past two months but I didn't make the connection until my daughter mentioned it whilst we were drawing up invites for her birthday party."

Emily interrupted their conversation, "Mummy's not passed anywhere, she is just away."

"I see," said Mr. Jones, grimacing a bit at the girl's insistence.

"Sorry, it is still a tender subject for the girls." Padma explained. "Anyway, Mr. Potter hired me to look after the girls." Then looking around a bit, she asked "I hope you don't mind me asking, but is there a Mrs. Jones?"

He gave a quick laugh, "Yes, there is a Mrs. Jones. Cynthia's mother is at work right now. She is an executive vice president at Lloyd's." Padma, not knowing who or what Lloyd's was, just nodded for him to continue. "After Cynthia was born, I decided to stay home and take care of her, since Theresa made more money than I ever could."

Padma pondered this for a while. No wizard she knew of would have given up his career for his wife. She knew that from personal experience. But she could neither accept nor decline without first consulting Harry. So she let Mr. Jones know that she would get back with him later tonight after talking to Harry. She then collected her very excitable charges, walked to a deserted, hidden spot and apparted back to the house.

Dinner was early that night due to the fact that both Harry and Sarah needed to get ready for the dance later that night. The twins used this time to wheedle and plead with their father to go to the party. "Cynthia is our best friend." Eleanor whined.

"Yeah, we'll be the only girls in the whole school not going." Emily pleaded.

Then they gave him what Padma thought were the saddest puppy dog eyes in the whole world. Where the devil they got that from, she wondered. Certainly not from Harry, but he was not as powerless as she was when the twins used those eyes on her. He was not giving in. In fact, though, he seemed rather distracted all through dinner. Sarah sat there bemused, watching the scene unfold. This gave Padma pause, she wondered it Harry eldest has ever used that trick. Finally, though, the tension was broken by Sarah.

"Daddy, you should let the girls go to that party tomorrow. As long as Nanny Padma is there, I'm sure nothing could go wrong. Besides, Daddy, it would look rather strange for the girls not to go. After all they have both been over at Cynthia's house many times before and Cynthia has been here."

Harry slumped in seat in defeat, "Alright, I give up. Emily and Eleanor you may go to Cynthia's party. But Nanny Padma is to go with you and you will take Grandma Nissa too."

Emily and Eleanor cheered, while Sarah sat back looking satisfied but Padma was a bit confused. Did they mean Lady Malfoy?

As if reading her mind, Harry smiled, "Grandma Nissa is, of course, Narcissa Malfoy. That was Sarah's name for her went she was a very small girl. She couldn't pronounce Narcissa so she shortened it Nissa. It just seemed to stick, so every child afterwards has referred to her as Grandma Nissa."

That explained the Nissa part but not the Grandma part. It was obvious to Padma that she probably would never understand the relationship Narcissa Malfoy has with the Potter Family. Dinner ended soon afterword and the girls went with Padma to help Sarah get ready for the Dance later that evening.

The doorbell rang announcing the arrival of the Weasley girls, Padma went down to answer the door. "Hello, Kira and Tara. You're for Sarah, right?" The two girls nodded nervously. She could see that the girls were not expecting to see her tonight. Obviously the whole incident at Ginny's apothecary must have gone out of Tara's head once she received her invite that afternoon and it wasn't common knowledge that she had left Terry and now working for the Potters'.

The two girls looked around a bit and then Tara asked cautiously, "Hello, Mrs. Boot, is Mr. Boot here too?"

Padma shook her head and the girls visibly relaxed. Padma frowned, had the girls noticed what she had long denied? She shivered as she thought about those days. Harry had just descended the stairs to greet the girls and gave her a look of concern. She shook him off with a smile, the moment had passed. She was in a better place now. They waited a few more minutes for Sarah to descend from her bedroom. Harry snapped a few photos, hugged her tight, kissed her and then sent her off with the Weasley girls. Padma glanced at Harry and could have sworn she saw a tear in his eye.

She had finally gotten the girls to bed, which tonight was rather easy. She thought they would put up more of a fuss but apparently were tuckered out by the day's excitement. Now fast asleep in their beds, they looked the picture of innocence, clutching small stuffed pigs tightly to their chests. Padma smiled as she retreated from their room and into the library to settle down in her favorite chair for a bit of night reading. She dozed off in her chair, awoken by Harry coming back early from the Dance.

"You aren't waiting up for Sarah, are you?"He asked her, concern tingeing his voice.

She looked up from her book, yawned and stretched, "Only for little while. I just feel better knowing that everyone is home safe. Are you going back to Hogwarts tonight?"

"Yes, things tend to get a bit rowdy after the Dance and Snape wanted an extra hand to patrol the hallways."

She nodded. "I guess so. I hope the girls don't have any more nightmares tonight."

Harry shrugged, "I think they are in good hands here. I don't think I have told you, but you are doing a wonderful job with the girls. The twins genuinely like you and even Sarah has overcome her earlier hostility to you."

"Thanks, Harry. I think I have gotten Sarah to think of me as an older sister instead of a replacement for Buffy. And the twins, well I think they just love me for me."

Harry nodded and turned to leave. "Don't stay up too late. I may not like it but Sarah is an adult now and if she chooses to spend the night out, well there is not too much I can do about it. Good night Padma."

"Wait, Harry. Before you go, why did you hire me?"She asked him rather nervously. She didn't know why she asked that question, but now that it's out there she waited anxiously for a response.

Harry considered the question for a minute before answering, finally he said, "I did it as a favor to Narcissa. I had owed her a debt as she so reminded me and this was a way to repay her. She told me that Buffy knew of your situation and was going to help you before she died unexpectedly. Narcissa suggested that I take you on as a Nanny to the twins during the school year and to the rest of the family during the summer. I remembered you from Hogwarts and I worked with your sister so I knew you were a good person, good enough to trust with my most precious assets." He paused, and then continued, "I also know what it's like to be trapped with an abusive person. In my case, it was my Aunt and her family. In your case, it was Terry Boot."

Padma looked surprised that Harry knew about her ex-husband's antics.

"Don't look so surprised. Boot's antics had to be one of the worst kept secret of the Ministry. The only reason he is still Percy's second is probably because of some blackmail material." Harry said. "Or maybe because of a deal with the devil. Personally, I think he made a deal with a devil."

This brought a bitter laugh from Padma. Then, hoping for a chance to clear up a mystery, she asked, "And Narcissa, why did she influence your decision?"

Harry smiled, "I owe for all of this. Without Narcissa, there would be no this." He made a sweeping gesture indicating the house and all of occupants present or otherwise. He left her on this mysterious note.

Padma sighed and then rubbed her head. Harry was purposely vague. She guessed she just had to wait until Narcissa appeared tomorrow to try again with her. She generally like the idea of mystery, but his one puzzled her to no end. She tried to think back to when Buffy first appeared in Harry's life, but that was at least seventeen years ago. She wasn't paying too much attention to Harry back then. But she remembered that Terry was complaining about something to do with the Malfoys back then. If Narcissa didn't provide any answers, she would check some old editions of the Prophet.

Padma awoke with a start. She had fallen asleep again in the chair in the library. Her back creaked as she stretched to the stiffness out of her joints. She glanced up at the grandfather clock in the library. It was finishing the chimes for 1:30 A.M. Funny, she didn't hear Sarah come in. Perhaps she slipped in quietly while she dozed in the library. She put her book aside and went to check in Sarah's bedroom. The bed was still made. Maybe Sarah met someone at the dance and decided to spend the night. But Sarah didn't seem the type of girl that went for one night stands. She seemed rather an all or nothing type of girl. To be honest, though, Padma really didn't know the girl that well and she was of age. Still, Padma had the feeling that something wasn't quite right. She shrugged her thoughts off and decided to head to bed herself. She would deal with Sarah in the morning.

Morning came and still no Sarah. Emily and Eleanor were a bit concerned at breakfast when they didn't see their older sister but Padma tried to reassure them by saying, "Your sister is alright. She's just staying with Weasley girls. She left the dance rather late last night and she didn't want to disturb us." The two little girls seemed to be mollified by this white lie and finished their breakfast without incident. Padma then helped them to get ready for their day, laying two of their newer dresses for the party later that afternoon and some exercise clothes for their morning workout. When Faith came by later that morning to lead the girls in their workout, Padma took advantage of the free time to place a call to the Weasley residence. She took a pinch of Floo powder, tossed it in the fireplace and asked for Minister Weasley's residence, hoping to get one of the girls.

She was surprised when Penny answered the Floo call, making Padma a bit anxious as she hadn't told her friend of new situation. "Hello Padma, I haven't seen you in ages. Is this a social call?"

Padma shook her head in the fire, "No Penny. I needed to talk to one of your daughters. It is about Sarah Potter."

Penny gave her a funny look. "Sarah Potter, Harry's eldest? Why do you want to know about her?"

Padma sighed, "I work for Harry now, Penny. I am nanny to the two youngest girls, Emily and Eleanor. I've been taking care of them since April."

A look of sadness passed over Penny's face. "Since April, I see."

"Please Penny, I know that you are very close to the Potters and I would love to talk to you about my situation, but I really need to talk to one of your girls."

She nodded and left the room. She came back a few minutes later with Tara. The girl glanced at the fireplace and greeted Padma. "Hello Mrs. Boot." She said politely.

"Hello Tara, sorry to bother you this morning but have either you or Kira seen Sarah Potter since last night?"

Tara fidgeted a bit, her mother in the background eyeing her."Err, no Mrs. Boot, we left her at the Dance last night."

Padma looked surprised, "I thought that since she came with you that she would come back home with you."

Tara fidgeted a bit more while Penny gave her a hard glare, saying "I would have thought the same thing myself. Why did you leave Sarah at the party, young lady?"

"Alright, alright it wasn't our fault. We couldn't find her when we went to leave for the evening. We just assumed that she left with someone else."

"Someone else?" Her mother repeated.

"Oh, alright, a boy. At least, last I saw she was with him, which was around midnight." Tara finally said.

On the other side of the fireplace, Padma wrung her hands, this was not good. She was getting a real bad feeling about this. "Um, Tara, what was the boy's name?"

"Anthony Morgan, he works for the Ministry." Tara replied, "Oh, he just got a promotion too." She added, hoping that would make things ok.

Her mother had a different reaction."Oh, wait, wasn't that the boy who kissed her back when you were all first years?"

Tara nodded as a dreamy expression passed over her face.

Padma groaned, she didn't need for the girl to get moony over the boy she just wanted information about him."Do you know where the boy lives?" She asked Tara.

Tara's head snapped up. "No, I don't know where he lives. But why should you care? You're not Aunt Buffy!"

Her mother intervened by snapping back to her, "Tara, that was very rude and not very nice. I don't care how old you are, Mrs. Boot is a family friend and I'll not have you talk that way to her as long as you are living in my house."

"Yes, but-"Tara started to object, but her mother put up a hand to silence her.

"We will talk about this later, Tara."

The girl glared at her mother, turned on her heel and left the room in a huff.

Penny returned to her friend, "Sorry about that Padma."

"It's ok, Penny. It's just that things are a bit on edge here. I'm not used to taking care of older girls and Sarah's absence this morning just threw me a bit. I'm sure she is all right."

Penny nodded, "You're probably right. She is old enough to take care of herself. Oh, Padma, maybe we can do lunch next week and you can tell me how you ended up in Harry's household."

Padma laughed, "I'm still trying to figure it out myself." She ended the Floo call and stepped out of the fireplace.

She had one more resource to try. She went to the drawing room, stepped up to the desk and pulled out a sheet of parchment, a quill and an ink bowl. She first dashed off a note of concern to Harry, then a second note to her sister to see if she knew this Anthony Morgan. She folded the notes and went up to the owlry to find Shaggy, Harry's latest snowy white. She attached the notes to the owl and told it, "Take these notes for me, the first goes to Harry at Hogwarts and the second to my sister. Don't wait for Harry's response but do wait for my sister's." The bird hooted in acknowledgement and flew off.

The girls had just finished their morning workout when Padma returned to the gym. "I see that you are finished here. Time now to shower and then put on your new dresses. But you better hurry; Mrs. Malfoy should be here within the hour." The girls quickly ran to their bathroom to shower and get ready for their party. Padma found Faith hanging around the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee. "Your still here." She said to Faith. "I thought you would be gone by now, what with Lady Malfoy coming over."

Faith snorted. "Yeah, that's usually the plan, but today I decided to stick around until Miss High and Mighty leaves for the party you guys are going to. Two slayers are better than one."

"Narcissa's is a Slayer?" Padma blurted out, it was something she suspected but now Faith confirmed it.

"Duh, what planet are you from? Didn't you pick up the subtle signals she's been giving you? Quick to anger, really agile and much better hearing?" Faith asked.

"No, I didn't know. I never really thought about it. Is that why Buffy was friends with her?" Padma asked, hoping to finally get to answer to some of her questions.

"Yeah, B was the only one who would put up with her. Of course it helped that Bitch Lady seemed to dote on her kids." Faith replied.

Mention of Buffy's children reminded Padma of her other problem. "Um, Faith, did Sarah try to contact you this morning?"

Faith shook her head, "Nah, why is she missing? Didn't she go to that dance last night?"

"Yes, but she never came home last night." Padma explained.

"Don't sweat it, she probably met some hot guy last night and went home with him. She'll probably show up sometime this afternoon looking like the cat that ate the canary." Faith said with a laugh.

"Perhaps," Padma said cautiously, "But best not mention it to Narcissa. Sarah is her favorite and things are rather tense right now."

Faith agreed, then as an afterthought, "If you like, I could tag along to the party as extra protection. I could be the crazy Aunt visiting from the States as a cover story."

"No that's alright. I'm sure with Narcissa, myself and the tagalongs that seem to be following us we should be fine."

"What tagalongs?"Faith asked. "We only have the teachers at the school."

"but what about when we were shopping? Sarah and I both saw someone trailing us the whole afternoon." Padma insisted.

"Sorry Mary Poppins, no one has been following you around. We don't have that kind of resources. We figure with your witchy power you should be able to handle the routine stuff." Faith replied.

Padma shook her head, "I'm sure we were not seeing things and someone was following us."

"Wasn't us." Faith shrugged. She looked at her watch. "Looks like Queen Bitch will be here soon. Seeing as you don't need me, I'm taking off. If all goes well, I'll probably see this summer."

"You're leaving England?"Padma enquired.

"Yeah, as soon as this prophecy is over, I am heading back to Cleveland. Slayers to boss around and Watchers to rearrange. But Harry promised to drop by when they do their American Summer tour. I imagine you'll still be around." Faith explained. "See you later, Mary."

Then in a louder voice, she called out, "Mary, Tina, Gemma and Jo, let's move it. Training time is over and duty calls." Four teenage girls shuffled by Padma, waving goodbye and following Faith out the door.

Padma sat down in the drawing room as she waited for the girls to get ready for their party. She feeling very overwhelmed. Three months ago, she knew very little about mythology and prophecy. She left that sort of thing for her sometimes flighty twin sister. She had admired Harry Potter from afar while living in her own wreck of a marriage. Now three months later, she knows more about slayers, mythology and prophecies than she'll ever want to know. It all seems so much more personal when they involve seven year old little girls that you have fallen in love with. You also see Harry Potter every night in his house where he mourns his dead wife and cares for his children and you thank Merlin that you are away from your git of a husband. Two months time was all it took to get wrapped up in Harry, his family and Her friends. Yet those friends became her friends too. One saved her life from some strange beast and the other saved her life from her husband. The doorbell rang bringing Padma out of her brooding. She rose to answer the door and greet the newcomer.

It was Narcissa. Padma opened the door and stepped aside, motioning for her to come inside, as she had been instructed. "Hello Narcissa." She greeted her coolly. "The girls will be ready in a few minutes" Narcissa looked her over, wondering about Padma's change in demeanor to her. She sat down on the divan in the living room, looked up to Padma and asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing is wrong, Narcissa. Except for the fact that Sarah didn't come home last night and no one knows where she is at. Oh and apparently you're a bloody slayer!" Padma shouted.

Narcissa blinked, "Really, Padma, you must calm down. The girls will be down here any minute and if they see you like this they will become upset. Now what is this about Sarah being missing? Does Harry know yet?"

Padma still upset but trying to calm herself, exclaimed, "Well if he didn't know before, he knows now. I sent him owl earlier this morning. When were you going to tell me that you were a slayer?"

Narcissa sighed, "Who told you I was a slayer? Was it something you figured out?"

"Faith."

"Ah, I see. Well it's true that I am a slayer. Buffy found me and was my mentor. But that is not important right now. Let us focus on Sarah being missing. "Narcissa explained her voice a bit on edge.

"It's nothing, really. Met a boy at the dance and left with said boy, maybe." Padma said offhandedly.

"Maybe? Either she left with a boy or she didn't. It is long past the time when she should have at least checked in. So where is she?" Narcissa demanded, a bit more forcefully than before.

Padma was still feeling a bit petulant, and feeling more than a little annoyed with her patroness, snapped back, "What's it to you? She is nineteen years old, rather old enough to take care of herself. She is not even related to you, so why are you concerned?"

Narcissa stiffened as if she were slapped, "How dare you! How dare you presume to question my relationship to this family?" She paused, and resumed in a lower tone of voice. "I awoke one morning, feeling stronger than I had ever felt before. Everything was clearer, more defined as if I had awoken from a dream. My husband soon discovered my new found powers too and locked me in a dungeon for a year to try to bend me to his will. Buffy found me and rescued me. I brought you into this household to rescue you from your husband. I brought you in and I can damn well take you out. You can go back to being trapped by that fool of a husband of yours." As her diatribe went on, her voice was rising again till she was almost shouting at Padma.

Padma deflated, begged her not to."I'm sorry Narcissa. It's just that with Sarah missing has put me on edge. I can't help but feel that this day is slipping away from me."

The twins took this time to appear in front of them. They looked confused as to why their Nanny was in tears and their Grandma Nissa looked upset. They knew that Grandma Nissa had a sharp tongue, having been on the receiving end of it a few times. They looked at each other and decided to take matters into their own hands; they couldn't lose their Nanny Padma. Eleanor ran up to Nanny Padma and hugged her hard, whispering "It's ok Nanny Padma, we love you."

Emily looked up at her Grandma Nissa with her hands on her hips and her hazel eyes flared, tossing her light brown hair behind her, she scolded her by saying "You shouldn't be mean to Nanny Padma, Grandma Nissa!"

Narcissa looked at her adopted granddaughter standing there like that and she choked a bit. "You know, dear, standing there like that, you look so much like your mother."

Emily raised her eyebrows and said quietly, "Really, Grandma Nissa, do you really think so?"

Narcissa nodded.

Emily smiled, "I'll make sure I tell her when we see her again."

Narcissa looked shocked and turned to Padma to see her reaction. But she just shrugged as if to say it was out of her hands. Narcissa, though, got up, walked over to Emily and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Emily, child, your mother is not coming back."

Emily shrugged the hand off her shoulder, protested, "Yes she is coming back. I can feel that she is. And Ellie feels it too!"

Narcissa looked at the other twin, who looked back equally fierce in her belief as her sister. This made Narcissa furious, she grabbed both girls and shook them hard, "Stop this childish nonsense right now! Your mother is dead. She is not coming back, ever."

Both girls squirmed out of her grasp, tears rolling down their cheeks and ran out of the house. Narcissa slumped back into her chair, frustrated in her attempt to talk sense to the girls. Padma felt sorry for her patroness. "Look, I'm sorry Narcissa. This whole business has put everyone a bit on edge"

"Oh, I don't blame you, my dear. I blame Harry. It's his fault for coddling those two little girls and for letting riff raff like Faith hang around her."

Padma bit her lip, she actually liked Faith. Faith at least treated her like an adult at all times, unlike Narcissa who could be a bit patronizing at times. "I better run after the girls before they get into trouble." Narcissa nodded and waved her on. Padma quickly left the house to find her two lost charges. She found them sitting together under the large oak tree at the end of the block. They looked up from their spot under the tree and seeing Padma, popped up and ran to her.

"Oh, Nanny Padma, we're so sorry."Eleanor cried. "We didn't mean to run away."

"Yeah, we were just upset with Grandma Nissa." Emily added through her tears.

Padma gathered the girls to her, soothing them by rubbing their backs. "It's alright now, Grandma Nissa is better now. Let's go home and get cleaned up for the party."

Suddenly, the air started to shimmer around them. Padma clutched the girls even closer to her. Emily looked up at her, fear in her eyes, "Nanny, what is happening?" Padma didn't know. It was if they were being summoned, but she didn't know how. The space around them began to change from residential London to the interior of an unknown cavern. She found themselves surrounded by ugly, horrific creatures. The three of them screamed in terror. The last thing that Padma remembered before her world went black was this horde of creatures closing in on them.


	19. Chapter 19

This is a Test

Robbie was exhausted. Between Quidditch, studying for his OWLs, training with Abby and still trying to have a relationship with Nicole, it was a wonder that he could stay awake during class. As it was, Art had to keep poking him to keep his attention during Charms. At least he didn't have to worry about Quidditch anymore. They had trounced Ravenclaw 240-20 with Doreen catching the snitch with ease. She was just lucky that her sister was no longer playing for Ravenclaw. OWLs were still this week though and Abby still looked to him to help buffer her from that crazy watcher of hers. Saturday couldn't come soon enough with its temptations of Hogsmeade and Nicole. If all went well enough, he should score on the romance part of his life.

Charms ended, he gathered his books headed quickly to his Father's class, hoping to make through this week. Art sidled up to him, "Is your sister going to the Dance on Friday night?"

Robbie gave him a confused look. "Abby isn't old enough to any dances. Besides, isn't she a little young for you?"

Art flustered, "Not the Pip, your older sister, Sarah."

"Why? We can't go, since it is in London. Were you planning on asking her then sneaking off to go with her?" Robbie responded with a smirk. Art blushed to the color of his hair. "What? You can't still be crushing on Sarah? I thought you and Natalie were an item."

Art shrugged, "Nat's not talking to me right now."

Robbie grinned, he knew why his friend was getting the cold shoulder, "Did you forget her birthday again?"

"How did you know? Did she tell you?" Art responded with surprise and a bit of suspicion.

"No, you prat, you did the same thing last year. She didn't talk to you for two weeks then. Honestly, I think I have to tie a string around your finger."

Ron came up to join Robbie and Art. "What's up, mates?"

"Oh, nothing, except Lover Boy here forgot his girlfriend's birthday." Robbie replied. "Again." He added with a grin.

Ron also broke out into a grin, "So Nat's not talking to you, huh? I wouldn't blame her, second year in a row. Honestly, you're as bad as Dad."

"Yeah, and since his girlfriend isn't talking to him, genius here is lusting after my sister." Robbie jerked his thumb towards Art.

Ron's eyes widened, "Pip? Really Art that is so wrong. She's only twelve."

"Hey, Robbie does have more than one sister, you know." Art shot back.

Ron raised his eyebrow, "The twins? They're only seven. That's totally disgusting."

Art glared at his brother and Robbie. "Cut it, you two. You both know perfectly well that I mean Sarah."

Robbie shook his head, "Give it up, mate. You're too young for her."

"What? I'm sixteen, she's nineteen. That's not that different." Art protested.

Robbie laughed, "It's a Summers women thing. They never, ever date a guy younger than them."

"But your Mum was the same age as your Dad."Ron pointed out.

Robbie cringed, he wasn't really comfortable talking about his Mum, but replied anyway, "Well, technically he was 6 months older than her. And this discussion is now over. Art, you won't be going out with Sarah. You will apologize to Natalie and somehow make this up to her. For Merlin's sake, man, try to remember her birthday for next year." Art fumed silently at his friend, but did not reply. Robbie sighed and followed after Ron as they entered into his Father's classroom.

Classes this past week were basically a review and so it was in Defense against the Dark Arts where Father ran through the basics of what they covered for the past five years. Robbie was alert enough: he did expect to get an O in the subject, after all he was his father's son, yet his mind kept drifting back to his younger sisters. Abby still hadn't received back a reply from Grandpa Giles, so they continued their training with Abby's so-called Watcher. The Watcher seemed to know what he was doing, although something seemed to be a bit off about him. For instance, this past week he had been pressing Abby to start patrolling the Forbidden Forest. If it wasn't for Robbie's vehement objection to this idea, she probably would have gone out patrolling by herself. His sister still had too much respect for authority figures to even question the man's motives. Robbie though was fairly certain that that the Council didn't let Slayers go out patrolling until they were at least 16 and then only in the company of several older Slayers. Leastways that was what he had overheard the last time that he and Sarah had eavesdropped on the Council meeting that was held at the house. Also, Abby's dreams seemed to be getting worse. He was constantly taking her to an unused classroom so she could rest up without fear of hurting one of her classmates. Then there was also the matter of his two youngest sisters. They seemed to take Mum's death as a bit of joke. They seem to be getting into more trouble with their pranks as well as to be in some sort of danger. Robbie just chalked the whole thing up as test for the lady that wanted to replace Mum.

His Father must have picked up on his drifting off and caught him off guard by asking him a question, "Robert?"

"Huh? Sir?" Robbie blurted out.

"I want to talk to you after class. If you could wait for me afterwards?" His father asked pointedly.

"Yes, sir." Robbie replied, a bit sheepishly. What could his Father possibly want? He felt a wave of panic overcome him as well as a bit of embarrassment that his Father called him out in class. He must have found out about Abby, Robbie thought, this can't be good. Though, now that he thought about it, it wasn't really a bad thing. Her nightmares were getting worse and the git was getting more demanding. Perhaps Father could do something. He waited nervously while the classroom filed out. He received sympathetic glances from Art, Ron and Natalie. He nodded to each and drew a breath. He could try to fake his way through it, except he really couldn't. His Father always seemed to be able to catch him in a lie.

When the classroom finally cleared out, his father motioned for him to come to the front of the classroom. "Robert," he addressed him calmly, "What is going on between you and Abigail?"

"What do you mean sir?" Robbie replied, hoping to play him off.

"I've noticed that you and Abigail seemed to be spending a lot of time together of late."

"Come on, Dad, of course we are going to spend more time together. We're both in mourning for Mum." Robbie explained.

"Yes, I imagine so, but do you need to bring the Assistant Librarian in on your grief? It also doesn't explain why your sister's glasses are now clear glass instead of prescription." His father said with a bit of amusement.

Robbie slumped. Their Father had figured something was up. He decided to go for the truth at this point. "Er, well, you see Dad, Abby has been Called."

His father looked away and swore. Then, looking back at Robbie with a touch of sadness in his eyes, responded, "I see, and were you planning on telling me this when?"

"Just before the end of term, sir. We didn't tell you right away because we thought it was too soon." He didn't need to explain "too soon" to his father. He could see it in his face.

"What about our Assistant Librarian? Is he supposed to be Abby's Watcher?"

"Yes sir. Although we haven't heard back from Grandpa Giles confirming that bit of information yet. But he seems to know his stuff and he hasn't done anything evil, yet. So…" He let the sentence trail off, letting his father know that he had his doubts about Mr. Braceton-Milbourne but without spelling it out for him. His father nodded in acknowledgment and pushed the bridge of his glasses up his nose. Robbie hoped that he wasn't going to clean his glasses like Grandpa Giles.

"Um, Dad, is everything alright? Abby is not in trouble is she?"

"No, son, Abby is not in trouble. Your mother and I always knew that Abigail could be a Potential. We were warned by your Grandfather right after we were married that it would be highly likely that one of children, if a girl, would be a Slayer. Imagine our worry when we had not one but four daughters. When Sarah turned eighteen, we both sighed with relief on her behalf. But we both thought it was much more likely that Abigail would be Chosen, though her eyesight was a bit of a fooler."

Robbie just stared at his father. He knew! He knew all along. Robbie's anger started to simmer.

His father continued. "It somewhat explains the reading I'm getting from Mr. Bracedragon-Bricegirdle that he is concealing something. I hope that is the thing he is concealing, but I haven't been able to tell so I can't be totally sure. Still, with the prophesy looming over your head, I advise that you not go out this weekend."

Robbie looked at his father in shock and anger. How did he get from talking about Abby to talking about him? "What? You must be joking. There is no way I'm staying in this weekend. I need this weekend. I have been studying hard all this term for my OWLs this week. This is also the last Hogsmeade weekend before the end of term and I have a date with Nicole. Why the heck should I stay in?"

His father pinched the bridge of his nose again, pushing his glasses above his eyes. That meant that he was either angry, annoyed or both. "Unlike you and your sister, I have been in constant contact with the Council of Watchers. Your Aunt Dawn informs me that you and your sisters are in danger this weekend. The demon lord who attempted to kidnap your sisters is still out there. He needs all of your blood to complete his ritual. He will stop at nothing to acquire his targets. Your Aunt has, at my request, doubled the watch on the twins and has asked me to make sure that you don't leave the castle, as the protections of the castle will keep you safe."

Robbie rose from seat, "I have had enough of this. Forget this crap, I am going to Hogsmeade this weekend. I mean, are you stopping Sarah from going to the Dance? "His father didn't reply. "Right, I figured as much. All this time you knew and you said nothing. You watched me and Abs every day and you still let this thing go on. Well I'm going this weekend and you can't stop me. Just because some mystic mumbo jumbo predicts my demise doesn't mean it is going to happen. Besides, I can protect myself and you already signed the permission slip at the beginning of the year." He paused, frowning. "If you knew, why weren't you there when Abby was scared and bleeding in the tower day? I had to comfort her, dry her tears and clean her up along with her friend Al. Where the hell were you? Where were you, huh?" All of his anger and fear were pouring out at this point, he was losing it. He couldn't speak anymore and he felt like he was going to cry. He really didn't want to cry in front of his father, so he quickly ran from his father's classroom. He didn't have a direction or destination in mind when he set off and he suddenly found himself halfway to the Great Hall.

He stopped to catch his breath and compose himself. He wondered where all that anger came from. Then he realized it was the grief of mother's death as well as the added pressures of Abby being called and the OWLs bubbling up from within. The more he thought about, the more he realized that he sounded like a petulant child back there in his Father's classroom. His Dad really didn't know about Abby, not truly anyways until he confronted Robbie today. Still that didn't mean he couldn't have said something to have made it less scary for Abigail. For that matter, Mum should have told her too. In fact, she should be here now, instead of being at the bottom of the bloody stupid ocean. Damn, there was that anger again. He took a deep, calming breath and made his way back to his Dad's classroom to apologize to him for his outburst. He was about to enter the room when he heard the sound of his Dad's voice- angry, but also with a bit of a sob.

"It's your fault, you know, being the bloody Slayer then having children. You could have stopped this whole mess, years ago. Oh, alright, I really wouldn't give any of them up for the world, but you should still be here. Maybe if you weren't so damn pigheaded and just gave into the magic you would be here now. Now, I have to deal with this whole bloody mess without you and it's damn hard. It's just not fair. I need you!" And then quieter, almost a whisper, he added, "And I still love you."

Robbie gulped as he heard his own complaints echoed back in his father's heartfelt pleas. Perhaps he was his father's son after all. But he still was going to Hogsmeade on Saturday with Nicole. He smiled to himself; he was also his mother's son.

Friday evening couldn't come fast enough for Robbie. He was as exhausted from his OWLs as the rest of his classmates. Robbie felt he did well enough in all of his classes. At least he didn't have his History of Magic OWL interrupted by a vision from Voldemort. Nor was his Astronomy OWL interrupted by Aurors attacking the Game Keeper and the Deputy Headmaster. Oddly enough, or perhaps given the ages of some of wizards not so oddly, the same person who proctored his Father's DADA OWL test from when he was a fifth year student was the same one who was proctoring this year's DADA OWL.

It was an awkward moment for Robbie when the proctor looked at the paper and read his name, "Robert James Potter" then staring at Robbie, looking him up and down a bit, remarked, "Funny, you don't look like your father."

"Err, actually no, I've been told that I resemble my mother more." Robbie replied.

The proctor stared at him some more, it was quite disconcerting. "I thought the girl resembled her mother."

Robbie rolled his eyes and shook his head, this was getting ridiculous already. "No sir, my sister resembles my grandmother, my father's mother."

The proctor thought about it for a minute, shrugged and said "Right, mother, grandmother. Let's see what you know." He then proceeded to put Robbie through his paces and when Robbie had finished, the proctor motioned for him to come closer and whispered "Can you produce a Patronus like your father?"

Robbie nodded, grinned and cried out, "Expacto Patronus!" He was thinking about the kiss he shared with Nicole in the middle of the Great Hall and out from his wand sprang a giant grizzly bear.

The proctor was very impressed, "Young man, you are your father's son after all." He remarked as he sent Robbie on his way.

Robbie was now finished with OWLs and headed back to Common Room. Upon arriving, he saw that his three friends were sprawled out on the chairs and couch that populated the room. Natalie was the first to speak "If I ever open a book again, it will be too soon!"

Robbie groaned in agreement, "You can say that again. Thank goodness we have a week to recuperate."

Art was fast asleep on the couch, unable to respond, his snores filling the room. Ron was about to put one of his Uncle's treats in mouth but Robbie stopped him. "Come on, Ron, don't you think he's suffered enough?" Then taking out his wand, he cast a silencing charm on his friend. Art's snores were silenced and every else fell back into their seats, exhausted from their exams and happy not to hear their friend's snores anymore.

Natalie took up the conversation again. "Are you still going to Hogsmeade with Nicole tomorrow?" He had told his friends of his conversation with his father and the vague threats that came from it.

"Don't see why not. It's such a vague threat. 'Someone's out to get you!' Someone has been out to get me since I was born."Robbie replied offhandedly.

Natalie refused to let it go. "I thought it was a prophecy. From what I've been reading from the books your Father lent me, prophecy is a big thing."

Robbie was starting to get angry at his friend. "If you read the books then you know that prophecies are a tricky thing. Take that one about the Master; if the Slayer hadn't gone down to kill him he would have never been released from his lair. I can't let this thing take over my life. I'm going to Hogsmeade with Nicole tomorrow and that's final."

"Okay, Rob, we get it. No need to get all touchy about it." Ron replied, defending his girlfriend.

Robbie ran a hand through his hair, "Sorry Nats, I still have some left over anger at my Father. I didn't mean to take it out on you.'

"It's alright, Robbie. I think I understand where you're coming from. I just want you to be around for awhile. We'd miss you if something were to happen to you." Natalie responded.

"Speak for yourself, woman. I wouldn't miss that prat for the world." Ron said with a grin. This resulted in several pillows thrown at his head.

Changing the subject to lighten the mood, Robbie asked Natalie "So what about you? Have you forgiven that prat of boyfriend of yours yet?"

This drew a smile from her, "Well after much groveling on his part and of course the promise to buy lots of chocolate from Honeydukes, I think I will forgive him this time."

Art woke up just in time to hear her conditions of forgiveness and protested, "Hey, I thought I just had to grovel!"

"Sorry sleeping beauty, groveling and chocolate." Natalie repeated.

"Come on guys, help me out here." Art pleaded, looking at Robbie and Ron. They both laughed at him, having fun with his predicament.

"Sorry mate, she's got you there. After all, it's the second time you forgot her birthday."

Natalie just sat there looking on, a triumphant grin on her face. She knew she had won that round.

Nicole was waiting for him by the entrance gate, looking very pretty. She was dressed in a short black skirt and a pale lavender blouse with her hair loose around her shoulders, the dark strands shimmering in the morning sunlight. Robbie gave her a winning smile, walked up to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek."You look fantastic." Robbie remarked. Nicole blushed a bit at his compliment as she took his hand and walked together out to the carriages.

As they were walking through the streets of Hogsmeade, Nicole was feeling the relief of finally having finished her exams. It left her more than a little horny. She hadn't had a chance to be with Robbie for three weeks now. He was always busy studying or being holed up with that bratty little sister of his. Now, though, she had him alone and she wasn't ready for this moment to pass. She clung close to Robbie as they window shopped at the various stores. Then, judging the time was right, leant closer to him and whispered in his ear, "Is there anywhere we can go to, you know, make out without the whole world watching?"

Robbie grinned back at her. "I know the perfect place. Follow me." He quickly led her through the streets of the village, finding a path that led to a beat up old shack just at the edge of the village.

Nicole looked at the shack and then back to Robbie. "You've got to be joking. We aren't going in there, are we? It's haunted and it's a wreck."

Robbie's grin grew even wider, "Nah, it's not haunted, never was. That was just a story to keep everyone away from it. This is the place my grandfather and his friends set up when they were at Hogwarts. It's also where my Dad found Sirius Black during his Third Year. Come on, it's perfectly safe. My Uncle Ron fixed up the interior."

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her along behind him and into the shack making their way through to the bedroom where they fell together onto the bed. Robbie, taking the lead, took Nicole's face in his hands, started to kiss it, beginning with her eyelids working his way to her lips. Nicole was not passive either as she explored Robbie's chest under his shirt. Things moved quickly from there, as they started to remove each others' clothing. They were so caught up in their passion that they did not notice the air shimmering around them until the bed started to rattle.

Nicole disengaged from Robbie's lips and remarked shakily, "Di-did we do that?"

Robbie shook his head, "I don't think so." They clasped each other tightly, now in fear rather than passion as they disappeared from the bed and reappearing on the hard floor of a cave. The last thing they both remembered was two very large, ugly creatures towering over them and a commanding voice "Take the boy and ready him for the sacrifice. Chain the girl and leave her for the feeding with the others."They both then felt the pinprick of a needle being plunged into their arms and their consciousness failing.


	20. Chapter 20

Nightmares and Monsters

When Harry found out Robbie had left for Hogsmeade, he swore to himself. He would have physically stopped him this morning but because of the extremely late previous night, he rose rather late this morning. Then was nothing more he could do for Robbie now. He just hoped that his feelings of dread were just that: feelings. Now though was the time to confront Abigail and her Watcher. He knew that there was something wrong there and that he could do something about it. He was almost at the Gryffindor Tower when Severus caught up with him. He grabbed Harry's sleeve and tugged him into an empty classroom. "I have a message for you Harry." He said when they were both in the room.

"Can it wait, Sev? I really need to find Abigail." Harry asked impatiently.

"It is from Ms. Patil" Severus replied. Harry stopped his pacing. A message about the twins, perhaps? He snatched the letter from Snape's hands. He opened it and read it quickly. After reading it, he crumpled the parchment and let out a cry of agony.

"Trouble, Harry?" Snape asked.

"Sarah didn't come home last night from the Dance."

Snape raised an eyebrow, "Really? Did she leave alone or …" Snape let the statement go unfinished.

Harry just growled at the older man. "She was last seen in the company of one Anthony Morgan. I will kill that boy when I see him again."

Snape shook his head in quiet mirth, "Harry, Sarah is nineteen years old, old enough to make these decisions on her own."

"Yes, but I warned her about that boy in particular." Harry objected. "He's six years older than her-"

"Five." Severus interjected.

"What?" Harry asked, stopping his rant.

"Mr. Morgan is only five year older than Sarah. And you warned her about Mr. Morgan when she was eleven."

"Yes, but…"Harry objected.

"Harry," Severus said gently, putting a hand on his shoulder, "She can take care of herself. But there must have been a reason Ms. Patil has sent you that message."

Harry smoothed out the parchment from Padma and read it again. "She's looking for his address so she can contact him. Do you have that information?"

"I think I might. But again, Sarah can take care of herself, unlike your other daughter that is here at Hogwarts."

Harry glared at Snape, "That's what I was going to do when you pulled me into this classroom. I was going to confront her about her Calling and her so-called Watcher. Frankly, Sev, I've been worried about Abigail. She definitely hasn't been sleeping very well and it's starting to show in schoolwork. Just today, I had to wake her to answer a question in my class. Her other teachers have also approached me about her too; they also have noticed a decline in her work. At first, I put it off as her just grieving over Buffy. But lately I've begun to doubt that. I finally confronted Robert about it the other day, seeing as how they have been thick as thieves as of late. He confirmed what I had suspected, Abby has been Chosen. I asked about her Watcher and he seemed to have doubts about him."

"Has she told you about any of this?"

Harry's shoulders slumped, "No, she hasn't. I suspect she's just trying to protect my feelings. But I do notice these things. How can I not? We were both hoping it wouldn't happen but we suspected as much. Bloody bad timing, if you ask me." Harry ran his hand through his hair in frustration. He stood up then, squared his shoulders and said "I need to find her and get to the bottom of this."

"Has she told you of her dreams?"

Harry glared again at Snape. "Didn't I just tell you that she hasn't told me a bloody thing? Now let's go find her." He decided to this the easy way. He pulled out his Marauders Map, unfolded it and waved his wand over it, saying "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

He studied it for a few moments and then he found her. "She's in the Library and that ponce of a watcher isn't with her." They both quickly left the classroom and headed towards the library. They found her there, sitting half asleep at table. Harry had to admit she looked awful. She could no longer hide the fact that she wasn't sleeping and it showed on her face. Harry was shocked to see her this way and felt guilty for not recognizing it sooner.

She rose from her chair when she saw them approaching and rushed towards Harry, burying her face in his robes. "Please don't let me fall asleep, Daddy. When I sleep, all I see are those horrible monsters."

Harry just held her tight with one arm, while stroking her long black hair with the other. Her tears moistened his robes and her sobs muffled against his chest. "Have you told your Watcher about your dreams?"

She pulled back from his chest and looked at him, "How do you know about that?"

"I'm your Father. I have to know about these things."

"Robbie told you." She said

Harry sighed, "Yes, he did. But I suspected as much. Now again, did you tell your Watcher about your dreams?"

She nodded, "Bu-But he just told me that they were nonsense, nothing important." She sobbed even harder.

Harry looked over at Snape, who had raised his eyebrow at this information. Both Harry and Severus knew from Buffy that a Slayer's dreams were always significant if not prophetic. Things seemed to have gotten out of hand. Harry needed to find out about her dreams and then find out what that so-call Watcher was up to. He took Abigail's hand and led her to his quarters. He found some of her spare night clothes that she kept in his office and gave them to her to put on. When she came back from changing, Harry had her lie down on his bed. Stroking her hair to comfort her, he asked, "Tell me your dreams, Abigail, dear."

Abigail gulped, fearfully. Harry reassured her. "It's alright Abby. Tell me your dreams and I will make sure that they are followed. Then I will give you something to help you sleep."

Abby nodded, "There is always this huge monster with a scaly face and two horns coming out from the top of his head. He is very large and he has lots of smaller monsters running around and chanting. Then I see Sarah, Robbie, Eleanor and Emily all bound and bleeding. Then I see an army of Uber Vampires flooding the countryside. Then I usually wake up screaming. Oh, and one more thing that's really strange: I keep seeing images of Mum coming to the rescue." She paused, "I wrote them all down, Daddy. Just like Mummy taught us." She pulled out a bound set of parchment and laid them on the table.

Harry frowned at the description in his daughter's dream while he fondled the parchment across from him. He now had begun to worry about Sarah's absence. Perhaps it wasn't about a boy after all. If he would have had the information from Abby's dream, he would have stopped Robert from going to Hogsmeade. That damned prophecy came back to him, full force. He had forgotten about it, put it to the back of his mind after Faith and the others starting looking after Eleanor and Emily. Then there was that last bit about Buffy. Was she really alive and would she swoop in to save them all? His musings were interrupted by Severus's appearance with a potion in hand. He took the potion from Severus' hand and gave it Abby.

"Here, drink this. This is a dreamless sleep potion. It will allow you to rest tonight." Harry said gently to his daughter.

"But what about my dreams, Daddy?" Abby asked a touch of fear in her voice.

"Don't worry about your dreams, sweetheart. I will inform your Aunt Dawn and she will make sure that it is taken care of." He reassured her.

"Alright, Daddy, Thank you." She downed the potion in one gulp, then grabbed Harry and gave him a rib crushing hug. "Goodnight Daddy, I love you."

"Goodnight Abigail, I love you too." Harry kissed his daughter's forehead as she released him from her hug and tucked her into bed. He sat next to her and waited until she fell asleep. When her breathing had evened out, Harry began to erect a set of very powerful and complex wards. The wards were erected to protect her and to prevent her from leaving this space. It also prevented anyone else except himself to try and take her from this space. This done, he turned to Severus.

"It seems that my daughter is having dreams about a certain prophecy. It also seems that her Watcher isn't really a Watcher. Let's go pay a visit to a certain Assistant Librarian."

Severus returned an evil grin and together they headed to the entrance of Harry's quarters. They didn't have to go far to find Mr. Braceton-Milbourne as he was standing right in front of Harry's quarters. He looked as if he was about to knock on the door for entrance. Harry decided to play ignorant to trap him.

"Can I help you?" Harry asked.

The man stiffened, noticing the Headmaster with Harry and replied curtly, "Indeed you can. I am looking for Miss Abigail Potter."

"Really? What could the Assistant Librarian possibly want with my daughter? Does she have a particularly overdue book?" Harry asked coyly. The man was good, Harry gave him that, and he didn't even squirm a bit.

"I believe the Headmaster knows the reason I need to see Miss Abigail. He can explain it to you later. But for now, I really need Miss Abigail."

Harry was getting tired of playing this game. "No, you may not see Miss Abigail until you tell me why."

The man sighed, as if put upon. "I had hoped to delay this talk, but no matter. Your daughter has been called as the Slayer. I am her Watcher and I have a report of vampires in the Forbidden Forest. It is her sacred duty to care of this problem." He said this as if daring Harry to object to his logic.

But Harry did something unexpected, he stepped aside and said, "Please, come into my quarters and tell me all about my daughter's Sacred Duty. Then, after you have explained it to me, then I will let my daughter go with you."

Severus looked at Harry in surprise, but Harry shook his head. He knew what he was doing. Mr. Braceton-Milbourne also was surprised at this and looked a bit worried. But he entered anyway. Harry and Severus followed him in. "Please take a seat, Mr. Braceton-Milbourne." Harry indicated the chair next to the lamp. "Would you like something to drink?" Harry continued graciously.

The man stood in front of the chair and looked about the room nervously. "I don't think you understand the importance of this."

Harry shook his head and gave him a hard look, "No, you don't the importance of the situation. Sit." He ordered. Mr. Braceton-Milbourne sat down in the chair. He was still watching Harry nervously; he had lost control of the situation and was now looking for a way to escape. Harry walked over the fireplace, grabbed a pinch of Floo Powder and tossed it into the fire. He called out "Watcher's Council, Dawn Summers." Then he stuck his head in the fireplace. Waiting a moment to get over the disorientation, he blinked and saw the smiling face of his sister-in-law, Dawn Summers.

"Hello, Dawn." He said evenly.

"Hello, Harry. Something tells me that this isn't a social call." She replied.

"Quite right. When were you going to tell me about Abigail?" Harry demanded.

Dawn winced, "Sorry Harry. I was going to inform you after her Watcher filed her one month report. Did Abby tell you?"

"Yes, but only after I figured it out and quizzed Robert about it. Now her Watcher informs me that we have a vampire problem in the Forbidden Forest and that Abigail needs to go alone to take care of this problem."

"What are you talking about? She's too young to go patrolling, especially alone. That's way against policy. Is Annabelle there? If she is, put her through, cause we need to have a serious talk." Dawn seethed.

It was Harry's turn to be confused."Who is Annabelle? Abby's Watcher is a Mister Braceton-Milbourne."

Dawn shook her head, "No. Her Watcher is Annabelle Jordan, you know, Lee Jordan's daughter. She was Ravenclaw. Harry, you remember her, don't you? I brought her over for Christmas to introduce her gently to your family." She paused, mid-rant. "Wait, what did you say his name was?"

"Mr. Braceton-Milbourne." Harry repeated

Dawn swore to herself and then said. "I'll be right over and I'll bring 3 slayers with me to take care of the problem in the Forbidden Forest and, of course, your other little problem."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see movement behind him. He quickly pulled his head from the fireplace, whipped out his wand and turned he towards the movement. He fired off a spell to stun the errant Watcher, Mr. Braceton-Milbourne. He then had Severus lead the man to a chair, where Harry bound him. "Dawn is coming and we shall soon get to the bottom of this façade."

Minutes later, Dawn came through the flue with three slayers in tow. Harry recognized the girls as they had been training with Buffy this past year. The girls had developed an easy friendship with Sarah and had ogled Robbie whenever he passed them by. Harry shook his head at that last thought: normal girl things from not-so-normal girls. He had never really thought about their lives that much despite his wife having that same life while she was growing up. Now, though, it was present on his mind now that Abigail was one of those not-so-normal girls. His sister-in-law brushed herself off, stepped over to Harry and gave him a quick hug, chasing his pondering thoughts for now. After she released herself from his embrace, she introduced the girls to Severus.

Severus decided to use this opportunity to leave Harry and Dawn with Abigail's Watcher. "Why don't I take the girls to the Forest and let them root out our vampire problem."

Harry nodded. "Thanks, Sev. I'll take care of things here." The girls all waved to Harry as they followed Snape out of Harry's quarters.

Dawn turned to Harry, hands on her hips, demanding, "What's going on?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Ask him." He pointed to the man now bound to the chair.

Dawn finally noticed him and her eyes narrowed in anger. "You! We kicked you out several years ago." Turning back to Harry, she explained. "This idiot is a product of his grandfather, a firm believer in the old ways. Somehow, Grandpa missed getting blown up and shows up six months later demanding to be put in charge. We kicked him out. Then a couple of years ago, this guy shows up at a training class spouting off all the old Council crap, treating the girls like weapons instead of people. We fired his ass too."Then turning back to the bound man she asked him, "What did you do to Annabelle?"

"She will be food for the awakened one. As will you all." He spat out.

Dawn laughed. "Think again, buddy. The ritual requires all five and I know for a fact that one will always be missing, since she is here in Harry's quarters, sedated and heavily warded."

Harry took over from Dawn, "Where is your Master now? Where is he hiding?"

The man just glared at them, saying nothing.

Harry sighed. He regretted sending Snape with the Slayers. He could use a dose Versatium right now. It would have been easier to get it from him rather than from Draco. He turned to his sister-in-law, "Do you think you could persuade Draco to get us some Versatium?"

Dawn frowned, "I would have to explain what it is for and that would take too long. But I could try." She turned to leave, but turned back, asking Harry, "What made you suspect him?"

Harry shrugged, "I didn't at first, but Robert, who was working with Abby, never trusted him. I only felt that he wasn't who he said he was. But I just attributed that to him being a Watcher for Abigail rather than anything else. I didn't figure it out until I found Abigail half asleep in the Library. She told me about her dreams and that her Watcher told her that they were not important."

Dawn stopped him, "Dreams? What kind of dreams?"

"Prophetic ones, apparently."

"Do you have a record of this dream?" She asked him.

Harry nodded and handed her the parchment that he wrote down Abby's dream. Dawn read it with serious intent and swore after she read it. "This is the prophecy that we found, to the letter. It matches exactly what the other Slayers recorded about it, except for the bit about Buffy. I don't' know where that comes from. Harry, contact Padma right now. Tell her to stay in house. It's important that the twins don't leave the house."

Harry gave her a questioning look. "I thought the Demon couldn't be summoned unless all five where present."

"Yes, for that prophecy. But there's a different prophecy involving the twins. We're not sure about the exact wording or the contents. But we know it exists. Maybe this is what triggers that prophecy."

Harry swore and walked over to the fireplace. He took a pinch of Floo powder, tossed it in the fireplace and called out "Potter Residence."

He called out for Padma but instead got Narcissa. "Where's Padma?"

A tearful Narcissa replied, "Gone, along with the twin, vanished in midair. It's my fault, Harry. I was arguing with Padma and the twins got upset and ran out of the house. Padma chased after them, and I after Padma. But before I could catch up with them, they vanished. I fear the worse with Sarah gone too. Are Robert and Abigail alright?"

"Abigail is here with me. I'm afraid Robert went to Hogsmeade and I fear him missing too. Don't beat yourself up too bad. These prophecies are tricky things. Something else would have triggered it or perhaps you might have got caught up with it too." Harry reassured her. "Just stay put and make sure the house is secure."

Harry withdrew from the fireplace and faced the bound fake Watcher, "I will find out where your Master is and I will kill him myself. As for you, I think Dawn here can come up with some suitable punishment."

For the first time since he encountered Harry, the fake Watcher's face showed fear. Yet he was resolute in his obedience to his Master and muttered a spell that would blank his mind. Harry heard his muttering and swore. He couldn't stop him before Mr. Braceton-Milbourne became a vegetable before his eyes. That's how Dawn found him moments later when she reentered the room holding the potion in her hand.

"What's wrong Harry?" Dawn asked.

"The bastard turned himself into an idiot before I could find out where my children are being held." Harry replied bitterly.

"What about Abby's dreams?" Dawn asked.

"What about them?" Harry replied.

"They might hold the clue to where the kids are. Sometimes these dreams can be very descriptive. She did write them down, didn't she?"

Harry smacked his forehead. Of course the dreams might hold the clue. He retrieved the parchment from his satchel and divided the stack between Dawn and himself. Together they searched the record of Abby's dreams, hoping for some scrap of information that would lead them to find Harry's children.


	21. Chapter 21

supposed to be with, Anthony Morgan. But if you're here, where's Sarah?"

He looked back at her, surprised that she recognize

"I work for the Potters now. I'm the younger girls' nanny."

"Nanny, eh? I rather thought Sarah a bit old for a nanny. As for Sarah, I suspect our megalomaniac over there has her." Their conversation was interrupted by a growl that could be heard echoing across the entire cavern. Padma could hear their rather loud conservation clearly.

"Why do I have only four? Where is the fifth Potter child?" The voice growled.

"She is well-protected, Master. She must still be in the confines of the school. And while our chanters have finally breached those protections, she is being protected by even stronger wards within the school itself." Replied a voice that Padma thought she recognized.

"Then contact my servant at the School and have him let our minions in and they will snatch her from the school. I must have that last child."

"As you wish, Master." Padma heard the scurrying of feet as the second voice retreated from his master. She knew that second voice now. Harry was right after all, he had made a deal with the devil. She strained now to see him and the other speaker through the haze of smoke from the torch lights. She blanched when she finally saw the figure of the first figure.

"Hard to get your head your mind around it, eh?" Anthony, or the Boy as she thought to herself, quipped with a smirk. "Quite not human is it?"

Padma shook her head, though it hurt to do so. Another voice, not her husband or the Beast called out, "Master, two of the sacrifices are awake!"

The Beast that was a vague impression on her mind drew close, much too close. He was, in a word, ugly. Two horns were protruding from the top of his head; he had red eyes, a squared off nose and a mouth full of what looked like very sharp teeth. Oh and he also had purple skin. He seemed to about seven feet tall and four feet across. He made Padma feel very tiny. She hated to think what the girls thought of him and hoped they were alright or at the very least, alive. The Beast looked her and Anthony up and down a bit and muttered, "Yes, I see that they are indeed awake. Did you fail to give them the sedative?"

Her ex-husband responded, "Of course, Master. I gave them all sedatives. See, the youngest one and the Watcher still sleeps." He pointed to a third and fourth captive both chained to the wall, still unconscious. The third was a young girl, around 15 or 16, partially unclothed. The fourth was a slightly older girl, around Sarah's age; she was fully clothed but also unconscious. The Beast turned and slapped him with his meaty fist, driving her ex to the far wall of the cave.

"Fool, you should have known that the older they are, that they would need a different, stronger dose. No matter, they will all be awake soon enough to welcome the Destroyer of Souls. He feeds better on fear."

Padma and Anthony both gulped loudly in response to the Beast's ranting. Padma, though, finding a courage she didn't know she had or perhaps it was just her Ravenclaw curiosity, ventured to ask, "I thought part of the prophecy said that you couldn't kill the twins lest you bring ruin on yourself?"

The Beast laughed. "Prophecies are funny things. They never really mean what they say. Or maybe they just mean something else altogether. But I won't kill them, after I drain enough blood to summon the Destroyer, then I will leave them for the Turok Han. They can kill them after the blood of the other siblings releases them. Then, of course they can feed on you. Having no soul, you will be easy pickings for my servants." A shiver ran through Padma's spine. "Pity though, not too many humans can read Demonic languages."

The Beast though was nervous. Padma noticed this as he paced back and forth down the length of the cave. Padma remembered that the Beast was on a timetable or so the Prophecy said. She just hoped that if they were going to be rescued, that it was before the deadline. After the deadline, they were no longer necessary and therefore even more disposable. At least for now, they were needed to feed this Destroyer of Souls. One thing she noticed that might be in her favor, the Beast was working from a faulty translation. The prophecy was written in Demotic not Demonic. She noticed that the boy was staring at her now. She sighed and whispered, "Why are you staring at me?"

"I never knew anyone can read Demonic languages. Where did you learn that?" He whispered back.

A smile crossed Padma's lips as she answered. "Well you still haven't met anyone that can read Demonic Languages. Dawn Summers told me the prophecy and she said it was written in Demotic not Demonic. Demotic is a form of Ancient Egyptian."

The boy raised his eyebrow, "Summers? Any relation to Sarah?"

Padma sighed, wondering if the boy had any brains to go with his looks. "Of course, she is her Aunt."

The boy slumped down, "Oh, yeah, I remember now. She did mention an Aunt Dawn earlier at the dance. Sorry, this is all been a bit much for me."

Padma didn't reply, though she had to give him that: it had been a bit too much for her too. Finally, her eyesight had adjusted enough so that she finally noticed where the children were. They were lined up in a row towards the far end of the cave on cots above what looked to be an altar. They were garbed in white diaphanous gowns, still except for the rise and fall of their chest indicating that they were still alive. Standing guard in front of them were three demons with skewers for arms. The twins would have known their names but Padma didn't. They looked even more innocent lying there. Padma was watching them now and listening to distant sound of the chanters trying to get at Abigail. Then, suddenly the chanting stopped. Padma looked over at the boy in fear. That couldn't be good, if the chanting stopped, then Abigail must be close at hand. Meanwhile the Beast stopped its pacing and let out a hearty laugh, being very pleased that the last piece of its puzzle will soon arrive. Padma, not normally religious, decided now was the time to lift a prayer up to Vishnu.

Her ex-husband took this moment to come by and gloat. "Soon, my darling, very soon, my Master will achieve his goal and I shall be rewarded. All of the Magical world will bow down to me."

Padma laughed, "You're a fool, Terry. When he gets done, there will be no Magical world. There won't be any world. You'll be master of none, that is if he lets you live."

Terry slapped her hard and then retreated to wait with his master. Five minutes passed and nothing happened. No child appeared suddenly in their midst. The Beast roared in anger. "Where is the missing piece of the puzzle? Where is that damn child?" He pushed Terry forward, "Go, find out what happened with my chanters. I need that child in order for this to work."

"I will go too," Said the gnarly minion "you cannot trust these humans." Padma and Anthony watched as the demon and Padma's ex-husband retreated from their section of the cavern. Suddenly, a high pitched inhuman scream pierced the silence of the cave and then nothing. All eyes moved towards the entrance of the cavern in the direction where the scream came from. Then, appearing as if out of nowhere, came forth a small hooded figure and in its outstretched hand was the head of the demon minion. The hooded figured tossed the head towards the Beast, where it landed at its feet.

"I believe this is yours." The hooded figure indicated the head at the Beast's feet. It was a human female voice! Padma couldn't believe her ears. Was it one of the Slayers that were watching over the twins come to rescue them? No. This woman was smaller than the girls that were watching over them. Then the woman continued, pulling out a long, weapon with curved blade on one end and a pointed stake on the other, pointing the weapon toward the children, "And I believe those are mine."

The Beast gasped, "Y-you, you are supposed to dead!" Padma then figured out that the woman was none other than Buffy Potter; she stared at her mouth agape. She heard the stories and the twin's ramblings about her being alive, but always discounted them since in her book, dead was dead. Even Faith's support of the twins still left her a bit skeptical. Now, she appears, in the flesh, ready to save them all.

Buffy shrugged, "What can I say? I just can't stay dead. It's not for lack of trying, though. Now give me back my children."

The Beast seemed to regroup, scowling at her, "Then I will just have to kill you myself. Then I will kill your children. Or maybe I'll just kill them first." He turned away from Buffy and moved back towards where the children lay. Fear seemed to creep back up on Padma as she watched him move. But Buffy seemed to have other ideas.

"Don't you dare turn your back me, mister. I wasn't through talking to you." She cried out as Padma heard the whistling of an object sailing towards the Beast. It caught the Beast in between the shoulder blades and buried itself up its hilt. The Beast turned back to Buffy, roared and charged her. But Buffy just stepped out of the way of his charge and swung her weapon with the axe blade at the Beast's belly. She connected but couldn't pull out fast enough before the Beast swiped her with its claws, marking her with a nasty across her chest, ripping her hooded jacket. She looked down on her now ruined shirt and jacket, "Now look what you've done, you've ruined my new clothes."

"I will ruin more than your clothes when I get hold of you."

Buffy laughed, a rather strange reaction in Padma's opinion since the Beast was at least twice her size, and taunted the Beast, "You have to catch me first." The Beast charged her again and again she danced out of its range. She took another swipe at the Beast, severing one of its arms. The Beast roared in anger and pain. It barreled down on her again, but this time Buffy aimed for the neck and when the Beast was near enough, she stabbed it in the foot with a knife that she seemed to pull out of thin air. The Beast lunged toward the knife, Buffy though swung towards the neck, severing its head. When it collapsed to the ground, she took the stake end of the weapon and drove it through its heart.

"Is it dead now?" Padma asked hesitantly.

"Yep, good and dead. It won't even regenerate itself." She then turned her attention to the three guards that were standing in front of her children. They watched the whole battle in shock, not moving a muscle to help their master. "Leave or die, makes no difference to me." They looked down at their fallen Master and then back up to Buffy who was holding the bloodied weapon in her hand. They decided that fleeing would be the best choice and quickly fled the scene.

Anthony became upset at this decision. "How can you let them go? Aren't they demons? Are you not sworn to kill them?"

Buffy eyed him, "Who said anything about letting them go? I just said that I wouldn't kill them. You didn't think I came here alone did you? Besides, the amount of magic being used here is impossible to hide from Willow."

Anthony looked confused, "Who's Willow?"

But Buffy ignored him and went straight to her children. She cut the bonds that held them to their cots and gently stroked each ones hair. She turned back to Padma and asked, "How long do you think they'll be out?"

Padma shook her head, "I don't know. Anthony and I are only awake because of our adult metabolism. I suspect Sarah and the girl chained next to me will the next to wake." Buffy pondered this for a moment then returned back to cut Padma down. She then proceeded to cut down the two girls next to her and laid them gently on to the floor of the cavern.

Anthony protested, "Hey, what about me? Are you going to leave me here?

Buffy shrugged. "Her I know," she said pointing to Padma, "She's been taking care of my children." Padma nodded her ascent. Buffy then pointed to the younger girl on the cavern floor, "Her I also know. She's the girl that Robbie's dating. I remember her from Christmas, although that seems so long ago. The other girl I also know, she works for me and was also over at Christmas. You, though, I don't know. How do I know you're not evil?"

Padma giggled behind her hand, "Um, I don't believe that he is evil. Mrs. Potter. He is the boy who Sarah was with at the Dance.

Buffy studied him some more, recognition crossed her face. "Oh, I do know you now. You're the boy that kissed her when she was eleven." She turned to Padma, "Are you sure he's not evil? I mean she was only eleven at the time."

Padma shook her head, reassuring her, "It's quite alright, Mrs. Potter. I think Sarah likes him. After all, he was chained up here with us."

Buffy gave him a wicked grin and swung the axe blade of the scythe toward Anthony's hands. He closed his eyes and felt his hands go free from the wall and fell forward. Buffy caught him before he hit the floor. She then reached over and broke everyone's clamps.

Padma had a thousand questions for her, not the least being where she had been these past two months. But the first question to pass her lips was, "How did you find us?"

Buffy shrugged and replied with one word, "Willow."

Padma glared at her for a better explanation.

"Ok, I sorta followed you around these past few days. After you and the girls disappeared this afternoon, I went to Willow. She traced the magic back to here and transported me here." A worried look crossed her face. She looked up at Padma and asked in a small voice "Should I stay until they wake up? Will they hate me for being dead when I'm not dead?"

Padma shook her head, not even trying to make sense out of that last statement. She then took Buffy's hand and pleaded, "Stay. They all miss you terribly, although I think the twins already knew you were back. Or more importantly, they knew you weren't dead."

Buffy was stunned. "How did they know that? Even Harry would have thought me dead."

Padma shrugged, "I don't know, but they did. Faith also sort of knew you weren't dead. She figured it from the missing weapon, the scythe I believe she called it, but didn't wish to inform the others in case you didn't come back from wherever you were."

Buffy nodded trying to process this new information. "So how long before they wake? Will magic work?"

Anthony interrupted their discussion as he finally realized who his rescuer is, "I know who you are: you are Mrs. Potter, Sarah's Mum. But you're supposed to be dead!"

Buffy glared at the boy. "Did you just miss the whole exchange with Ms. Patil? Do I look dead to you?"

"Er, no, but Sarah-"Anthony stuttered.

Buffy turned to Padma, "Is always this coherent?"

Padma laughed, "I don't know. He seemed fine before." She paused, then resumed on a more serious note. "Perhaps an _Ennervate_ spell might work. If only I could find my wand…" Her voice trailed off as she tried to remember what happened to her wand.

"No need, I've got mine." Buffy said, pulling out a wand seemingly out of thin air. She walked over to where Sarah was laid out, pointed her wand and commanded "_Ennervate_!"

Sarah slowly raised herself from the cot, looked at Buffy, shook her head in disbelief and then looked again. "Mother?" She asked cautiously.

"Uh-huh." Buffy replied.

The young woman leapt up from her cot and enveloped her mother in a tight hug. "We all thought you were dead."

Buffy gasped, "Hey, you, I still need to breathe here."

Sarah released her mother, mumbling as apology. Then she grasped her mother again, just as tightly.

Buffy admonished her, "I missed you too, sweetheart, but we really need to get going and I still have to wake your brother and sisters."

Sarah released her again, this time staying close to her side.

Buffy looked her over quickly, checking to see if her daughter was injured. She noticed a few bruises and a nasty looking gash on her arm. She then noticed her gown and the way that Anthony was looking at Sarah. She glared at the boy, who had the decency to look away and turned to Padma and asked, "Can you do something about these robes? Transfiguration was never my strong suit."

Padma felt the urge to giggle again; it must be the situation since she never was much of a giggler. She stifled it though and said, "Um, I could but I would need my wand."

Buffy nodded, "Okay, I can do that for you. What's the spell again?"

"_Accio_." Padma supplied.

"Right, _Accio _wands." Buffy commanded. Six wands flew into her hands. She separated two out and passed the other four to Padma. "Which of these is yours?"

Padma picked out her wand and transformed the children's diaphanous gowns into bathrobes. Sarah looked like she was going to protest but a look from her mother made her stay her tongue as she put out her hand to take her wand from her mother. Padma was again amazed at the paradox that was Buffy Potter. She knew her children's wands better than the back of her hand yet didn't seem to know the charm to call things like wands. Yet when she spoke the charm, the wands flew so fast Padma could barely see where they came from. Buffy's kitchen at the house was void of magic except for the house Elf, yet she allowed Padma to transform her children's robes. To top off this paradox, Buffy was married to the most powerful wizard alive, Harry Potter. She shook her head and wondered what exactly they taught young witches in America.

Buffy's son was awakened next. He repeated the disbelief of his sister and hugged his mother hard, unwilling to let her go except for a look from his mother. He then asked after his girlfriend, Nicole, who was also brought with him to this cavern. Nicole had to be the younger of the two women still lying on the floor of the cavern near the wall. She looked closely at the girl, and then remembered that she was Pansy Parkinson's daughter. Focusing back on the situation, she addressed Robbie, "She alright, she is just unconscious. I believe she was injected with the same stuff that knocked all of us out."

Robbie seemed to accept this and then asked his mother, "Are you going to awaken her?"

Buffy nodded and walked over to the girl, "_Ennervate_."

The girl awoke with a start, looked longingly over at Robbie and then with surprise at Buffy. "Mrs. Potter? I thought – I thought you were dead. I was at your funeral and everything."

Buffy shrugged, "I'll explain later, honey." She then looked the girl over, noticing that she was standing there in her underwear, looking a bit chilled to judge by the goose bumps on her arms. "What happened to you clothes?" She asked the girl.

The girl's face turned beet red as she glanced shyly at Robbie.

Then as if a light bulb went off in her head, Buffy turned quickly on her son, "Robert James Potter, we are so going to have a talk when we get home."

Robbie's face reddened as deep as the girl's but managed to clip off an annoyed "Mother".

Padma decided to intervene, "I can transfigure the girl's clothes so she is not so exposed. Then I think you should wake up the twins and the other girl."

Buffy nodded, "Right, do your voodoo on Nicole and I'll wake up the twins and Annabelle."

Annabelle awoke without the aid of magic, the sedative finally wearing off on its own. The girl blinked hard as she tried to take in her surroundings. "Where-Where am I? Where is Minster Boot?" Her vision cleared enough now for her to see both Buffy and Padma making her face redden.

Buffy answered the girl, "Minister Boot has left the building and in no in a position to be doing much of anything any time soon. You are in cavern somewhere in Scotland with my Nanny, four of my children and two of their respective others. The question is what are you doing here in this cave instead of at Hogwarts Watching my child?"

The girl looked back in astonishment, "Mrs. Potter! But you're supposed to be dead and all. I was at the funeral too."

Buffy tapped her foot waiting for the girl to get to her question.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Last thing I remember was Minister Boot invited me to his office to discuss, um, personal business." She blushed again as she said that, noticing again that said Minister's wife was standing a few feet away.

"So while you were screwing the Minister, he was putting the screws on you, getting information on the Council and on Abigail." Buffy added, her voice rising.

"It wasn't like that. He said he loved me. He did ask about Abby, but only out of concern. We all thought she had just lost her mum and being called would be very difficult for her."

"You're a fool Annabelle. A young fool but a fool just the same. Terry was just using you. He didn't even pause for a second in front of you while you were out."

"No, that's not true. You're just jealous. Minister Boot would never forget me."

"Look, girl. He used you, then drugged you and dragged you here to be food for the soul stealer the bastard he was working for would be calling forth." Padma explained with exasperation.

"Wait, Abby has been called? When did that happen? I thought she just had the potential to be a potential." Buffy interrupted.

"She was called a month ago, Mum. But this girl isn't her Watcher, the assistant Librarian is."Robbie interjected.

"A month? But I was just in his office yesterday. I fell asleep and woke up here now."

"No, it's been a month. Abby was called in May, just after she turned 12. It's now June." Robbie explained.

The girl wept bitterly realizing she had been played the fool. The Minister was never going to elope with her, he wasn't in love with her: he was just using her. She betrayed everything for nothing.

"Forget about Boot for now. Boot is in the custody of the Council right now and won't be calling in any favors. Padma, give the girl back her wand." Buffy paused, "On second thought, hold on to that wand. She was willing to sell us out for sex, who knows where her loyalties lie." With that, Buffy dismissed the girl and turned back her attention to her children. She took a deep breath to get her anger under control. It wouldn't do her any good to greet her last two children with anger.

She waved her wand and repeated the spell to revive her last two children. They awoke quicker than the other two children, Buffy laughed to herself: those two always did have more energy than what was good for them. They enveloped her in a hug, like the other two. They started babbling together and it took Buffy a moment to translate what they were saying.

"Oh Mummy, we knew you were still alive!" Eleanor said.

"Oh, yes, we knew. We dreamed it and we told everyone but no one believed us." Added Emily. "Not even Daddy."

"Except we didn't tell Daddy." Eleanor interrupted.

"But I thought we did."

"Didn't"

"Did"

"Girls, enough already. I'm here now that's all that matters. We need to leave this place, can you walk?" Buffy asked her two daughters.

They took a few steps away from their mother and started to wobble. Buffy rushed over to catch them before they fell. She then noticed the swollen ankles on each of the two girls. They both had really bad sprains.

"Mum, I can carry one of the girls." Sarah volunteered, seeing that her Mum looked troubled. She knew her Mum would want to carry the girls herself, but that would make it impossible for her to fight.

Padma also recognized this and volunteered to take the other. They grasped a child each from Buffy and started to leave the cavern. Before they could leave the inner sanctum, Faith arrived with 6 other girls whom Padma recognized from the twins' earlier rescue.

"Yo, B. What's the hold up? Let's get the kiddies out of here before the sleeping demons awake." She paused and reached into a rucksack that was behind her and pulled out a package in a brown paper wrapper. "I almost forgot to give you this, a present from the Finns. It seems one of their seers knew about you as it came with a note, 'Give this to the Queen upon her return. It'll be just like high school.'"

Buffy took the package from Faith and began to unwrap it. Buffy's eves widened when she saw what the package contained: several blocks of C4 and timers. Buffy whistled in admiration of her present. She paused to consider where this gift could be put to its best use. She remembered the hole in the floor of the cavern when she was reviving her children. "I know exactly what to do with it. Do you have any rope in that rucksack of yours?"

Faith nodded and pulled out a length of rope.

"Good, let's blow this joint."She said with a grin.

"What is it with you and explosions, B? This a fetish of yours? Cause I can't see wizard going for that much kink."

"Faith!" Buffy admonished

"Oops sorry, B. Forgot about the kiddies. Right, let's blow this place." They went to the back of the cave where the altar and the hole were and set two explosives on the altar. The hole was next and Buffy tied the rope around her waist and had Faith lower down to the depths of the cavern. She was surprised by the sight of an army of sleeping Turok Han. She swore to herself, she hadn't seen these Uber-Vamps since Sunnydale. She doubled her determination, quickly and quietly placing the remaining C4 around and among the Uber-Vampires. She pause to consider the timers, she set them all for 15 minutes. As soon as the times were set, she yanked on the rope that was tied around her waist, indicating that she needed to be pulled up.

When she was back on the upper surface of the cave, she now saw that Faith's six slayers were now present in the cavern. She nodded to each of the girls. "Good, I am glad you are all here. Each girl can grab a passenger and then boogie. We've got less than ten minutes to get out of this place." Padma and Sarah seemed to accept this and passed the twins back to Buffy and Faith. They then allowed themselves to be picked up by a slayer. The other two girls and Robbie also allowed themselves to be picked up, leaving only the boy, Anthony, as the only one not carried by a slayer.

He protested stubbornly, "I am a grown man. I refused to be picked up and carried like a child. I am certainly able to leave this place on my own two feet."

Buffy glared at him. "Look pretty boy, the entrance to this cave is 15 to 20 minutes away, depending on whether you walk or run. This place is going to blow up in less than ten. The girl picking you up can run it five. Unless you want to be blown to smithereens, I suggest you get rid of your macho inhibitions and let Alicia pick you up and carry you."

An exasperated Sarah finally chipped in, "Don't be a prat, Anthony. You still owe me a proper date. Just let Alicia carry you."

The boy, finally chagrinned by Sarah's admonishment, let Alicia pick him up. The group of slayers quickly ran through the cavern to get to the distant opening. Padma noticed the splatters of blood and other things awash on the cavern floor. She wondered if it was demon or human. The thought of it being human brought up the image of her ex-husband. Although he was a nasty creature, he didn't deserve to die. She would rather have the vindication of a trial and him stewing away for a long while in prison. She asked Buffy, "What happened to Terry?"

"Scumbag, right?" Buffy asked "The jerk that sold my children for power?"

Padma nodded.

"The girls cleared him out earlier. He's lying nearby, waiting for us to get out of the cavern. Another one of Faith's girls is watching him. Don't worry; he'll rot in some prison cell for a long time." Buffy responded bitterly, wishing that the man wasn't human.

Padma gulped at the ferocity of her response, glad that it wasn't meant for her. But she was also glad that her ex finally got his due. She could forgive him for his attacks on her, some strange victim sympathy on her part, but not for the harm he caused these innocent children.

Soon enough, they made it through the entrance of the cavern and out into the open air. There was a ravine nearby where her ex-husband lay, that was where the girls headed. The girls put down their passengers gently and everyone crouched down. Buffy turned to her and to Anthony and asked "Do you guys know that shield spell, Prego or pogo or something like that?"

Padma winced at her mispronunciation. "Protego and yes I can cast it."

Anthony also nodded in agreement. "Good, you might want to use it to protect us from the debris that is going be falling on us. It's going to get very messy in one minute."

Padma and Anthony cast the charm, while Padma was wondering if Buffy's mispronunciation was deliberate. It seemed to distract her from the abject terror and fear that was running through her now. Her fears were met when in exactly one minute the ground was rocked by a large explosion and suddenly they were being showered by debris from the cavern.

When the debris had finally settled, Padma noticed two figures hurrying towards them. It was Harry Potter and Dawn Summers. She noticed that Buffy looked on towards her husband with trepidation, as if she was unsure whether or not that he would remember her. He went to their children first, while Dawn went to embrace her sister.

Buffy hugged her sister hard, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She had missed her so much and now to have her close again along with her children and husband. Her husband, there's the rub. Did he still remember her? That was a dumb idea, she thought. No, the question is did he still love her? That's the one she feared the answer to. She pulled away from her sister finally, saying "I'm alright, Dawn. I'm alive. Though I'm not sure if I was ever really dead again."

"I had to make sure. I never you remember you calling me Dawn." Her sister replied, pinching Buffy's arm for reassurance.

"You're a little old for that diminutive. " Buffy replied with a sigh. "I usually reserve those for my children. Though strangely enough, I can never think of one for Sarah. Do you think that's odd? Of course it's odd. I just couldn't think of anything more English than Sarah at the time. Of course that was so long ago and I'm so much older now and Sarah's no longer a little girl anymore and –"

Dawn put her hand over her sister's mouth. "You're you. Only you and Willow could babble like that. Though you are supposed to be dead, so I think I'll ask you a question only you would know: what did you say to me up on that tower?"

"Which time? Before or after?" Buffy replied a hint of sadness in her voice as she remembered the two times upon the tower.

Her sister didn't reply, she just grabbed Buffy and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. She knew only Buffy would know about the second time on the tower.

"Um, Dawnie? I still need to breathe, being in the living and all."

Dawn blushed and released her sister. She smiled though at her sister's lapse into the familiar diminutive. She looked down on her sister and noticed for the first time that her sister was frowning and looking at Harry checking over their children. "Don't worry Buffy, he'll come round. It just might take him a few minutes. He's just not used to the whole Buffy dying and coming back to life thingy."

"So how did you find us?" Buffy asked her sister.

"Abby's been dreaming about this place. The fake Watcher didn't want her to write it down, but our girl knew better and wrote it down anyway. Harry and I picked through the dream and narrowed it down to a few areas. Once you cleared the cavern though Harry was able to finally trace the children's magic to here, which made finding you so much easier than physically searching each prospective spot. Oh and we checked in with Willow too."

Buffy shook her head, not knowing how to take that whole sentence. She didn't know what disturbed her more, her daughter's dreams, the fake Watcher or Harry being able to sense the children's magic, though that last one really didn't disturb her since she could do the same.

She turned her attention back to her sister who asked her, "I guess the big question now, is what happens next?"

"I guess Faith can take her girls back to HQ and have them checked out there. The magical people and the kids should go to Hogwarts to have them checked out by Madam Pomfrey." Buffy replied.

"No, I meant what happens to you. You were declared dead, remember?" Dawn said pointedly.

Buffy shrugged, "Say you found me on a deserted island somewhere in the Indian Ocean."

"That's kind of lame."

"Yeah, but it works. Willow and Harry weren't able to pinpoint my location due to the area being a magical dead zone. A passing ship noticed my fire and picked me up and here I am."

"That's not what really happen, is it?" Dawn asked hesitantly.

"No. But I only want to explain this once and I prefer to do it back somewhere safe, like home or Hogwarts." Buffy replied. She looked around for Harry and didn't see him. She started to panic. Then she felt two strong arms wrap around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. She closed her eyes and relaxed into his arms. She closed her eyes and breathed in his musky scent, all the while relishing the feel of his arms around her body and the familiar tingle of his magic wash over her. She felt safe now, a very odd feeling for someone as strong as herself. Yet the months without his touch, his scent, his magic left her feeling alone and lost. It felt good to be home. "Hello Harry. I've missed you sooo much."

He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head and pulled her tighter into his body. "I've missed you to, love. It's been hell without you. Though I must confess that my bed has been occupied by another woman, two women in fact. They have kept me company a few of these long nights."

"Two women?"Buffy inquired warily.

"Yes, two women. About so high-"Harry paused and lifted his hand to indicate that they were about waist high, "with light brown hair and few freckles to go with their hazel eyes"

Buffy smiled, "I think I know those women, though I thought they were little girls."

"Little girls? No, they are women of the world, or rather the primary school." Harry protested.

Buffy giggled, she remembered those little tornados invading their bed when they were together. It made sense for them to seek him out when they thought she was dead. She turned to face him and he moved his hands to gently caress her face. He left streaks of blood across her cheeks.

"You're bleeding."

"I know. It's just a scratch." She replied. "Though, I am kind of running on adrenaline right now. Do you think you could make a few of those port key thingies so we can send everyone back to Hogwarts?"

"Did you want me to make one for us, too?" He asked gently.

She shook her head. She still didn't trust those things. They made her feel all wonky and that was the last thing she needed right now. "Couldn't we walk? After all, we are in Scotland."

Harry shook his head and gave her a quiet laugh, "Love, you do know that we are nowhere close to Hogwarts. It would take us three days to walk there." He paused and pondered for a minute. "Though there is another way to get there. Let me make these port keys first, and then I'll tackle your transportation problem."

She nodded, not trusting her voice at this point. She didn't want to seem whiny but magical transportation other than Willow Express or Dawn Wormhole just didn't agree with her own magic.

He released her and wandered over to the children and picked up a broken board from the explosion debris. "Portus" he exclaimed as he waved his wand over the board. He looked at his children and said "Grab hold of this and it will take you to Hogwarts. Severus is waiting for you to take you all to the infirmary." They all nodded, grabbed the stick and disappeared with a small pop. He walked over to Padma, Anthony, Annabelle and Nicole and repeated the process. When they had disappeared, he walked over to Faith, her slayers, their prisoners and Dawn. "Do you all need a port key?"

Faith shook her head, "Nah, we've got Willow's Magical Express. That should take us back to HQ." She turned to Dawn, "You coming with us or going with big sister?"

"I'll just apparate back to the gates in front of Hogwarts. So I guess I'm going with big sister, I mean Buffy."Faith nodded, "Alright, see you at the post slay briefing then." They gathered everybody together and then wavered out of sight.

Dawn turned to Harry and Buffy, "I'll see you two back at Hogwarts." She went over and hugged her sister one last time and kissed Harry on the cheek. She then disappeared with a loud crack.

"So, oh husband of mind, are we getting to Hogwarts? Limo and driver? Taxi? Thestrals or maybe a dragon?" Buffy inquired.

"Nope, we're going to ride on my broomstick." Harry replied.

"Really? I thought you might want to wait until we get back to Hogwarts." She teased.

"Minx, you know what I mean." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a miniature version of his broomstick. Harry placed on the ground and restored it to its original size.

"Wow that was an impressive demonstration of magic. So what now, oh great and powerful wizard?" Buffy asked cheekily.

Harry proceeded to mount his broom and indicated that Buffy should mount in back of him. She did so grasping her hands around his waist and leaning her head on his shoulder. She held on tight as Harry commanded the broom to rise and they flew off together towards Hogwarts, where Abigail lay asleep in Harry's quarters.


	22. Chapter 22

Coming Home

_Been out on the road 'bout six months too long._

_I want you so bad, I can hardly stand it._

_I'm so tired and I'm all alone._

_We'll soon be together and that's it;_

_I'm comin' home to your love._

Coming Home- written by Bonnie Bramlett and Eric Clapton

She awoke to the sensation of someone stroking her hair and the sound of a lullaby that her mum used to sing to her when she was a little girl. She let her eyes flutter open to see who it was. Her eyes went fully open when she recognized the person sitting next to her. "Mum? Did I die? Am I in Heaven? Or am I really still asleep and dreaming? Or-"

Her mother placed a very real finger on her lips to quiet her. "Shh. It's alright sweetheart. You are so not dead and therefore not in heaven. You are very much awake and I am real."

Abby turned back the covers on her bed and reached over to hug her mother hard. Perhaps a bit too hard as her mother gasped, "Sweetheart, you've got slayer strength now and I still need to breathe."

Abby grinned sheepishly, relaxing her grip a bit but still holding on to her mum, "Sorry Mum, I forget sometimes." Awake now, she remembered her dreams and began to panic. "I need to go, Mum. I have to save Sarah, Robbie, Emily and Eleanor. Their being held by this monster and-"

She didn't finish her rant before her mother wrapped her in a hug of her own. "It's ok sweetheart. They're safe and sound in the infirmary here at Hogwarts. Your dream helped your Dad and your Auntie Dawn to find us."

"But what about my Watcher, I think that he's evil." Abby asked.

"You're right about that. Good call. But your Dad took care of him last night."

"But what happened to my real Watcher?" Abby asked.

Her mum let her go and sighed. "She was caught up by the bad guys. She's alright now, but she won't be your Watcher now."

"Can Billy come back and be my Watcher?" She asked hesitantly. Billy was a boy their father took in when he 11. He was providing a place for the boy during the holidays. Abby remembers the funny story about him that Sarah told of the first time that they met. She was 5 and he was 11 at the time and she literally ran into to him when he was taking a shower. She yelped and cried out "Mum, there is a naked boy in my shower." Both were highly embarrassed as Sarah was preparing to take a shower too. Still it marked an awkward beginning of a great friendship. He looked out for Sarah when she went to Hogwarts that first year and he eventually married their minder and moved to Australia. There was a dreamy look in her eyes as she thought about him.

"Definitely not, I still need Billy to run things in Australia." Her mum replied firmly.

"What about Robbie? He's been helping me out with my training." Abby suggested.

"Maybe, but he really hasn't been trained. There's a lot Robbie doesn't know. Don't worry about it sweetheart, we'll find someone when I get back in the swing of things. For now, I'll train you with Robbie's help, of course."

"Are we ever going to find out what happened to you?" She asked her mum warily.

"Yes. As soon as you get dressed we are going to an unused classroom where I will explain everything." Her mum replied.

"Are you still going to be here after I take my shower and get dressed?" Fear tinged her voice, still afraid that this was all some crazy dream and her mum was still dead.

"Of course I will, sweetheart, who else is going to lead you to that unused classroom that your Dad picked out?" She bent over, smoothed Abby's hair once more and leaned over and laid a kiss on her forehead. "Now go shower and change."

Abby didn't have to be told again. She rose from her bed, found her bathrobe and shower kit and headed to the bathroom.

Buffy wondered how much of the truth she should tell everyone. Would they believe her tale of aliens, monsters, space stations, prophecies and strange planets? Maybe Sarah, Abby and Robbie would believe the part about aliens, monsters and strange planets. Harry and Dawn would believe anything to do with prophecy. But the others, would they believe her? Rather than come across as the strange lady returned from another universe she would just extend the tale of her return to this planet, this Earth. The Powers had transported her back to a deserted island on the southern edge of the Indian Ocean, close to Antarctica. The island was a magically null zone so she couldn't use any magic to signal her rescue or even to let anyone know she was still alive. Two weeks had passed and finally an Australian fishing trawler spotted her signal fire and swung by to pick her up. When she reached the Australian shore, she contacted Billy, who was in charge of the Australian branch of the Council, to pick her up and arrange for passage back to England. She was hesitant to contact anyone other than Willow when she arrived back in England. She didn't know how long she had been gone. She spent at least a year in that other universe and even though Billy assured her that it had only been two months, she was unsure about her reception back home. As she spun her tale in front of her family and friends (the edited version without aliens and parallel universes) she saw acceptance of her story except for Faith, who looked with skepticism at her. For some reason, Faith wasn't fully invested in Buffy's story. She would deal with that later. She would probably have to tell her the whole story. She would also tell Harry too. They decided long ago not to keep secrets from each other and although this led to many arguments and disagreements during the years, their honesty helped make their marriage work. She might tell Dawn and Willow, but not the children, well at least not until they were older.

Padma was despondent. Buffy was alive and with her husband and children but where did that leave her? Did she still have a position now that she was no longer needed as a nanny? And what of her personal life, now that her ex-husband is in prison and in disgrace, what will become of that? She turned to leave the room, hoping to escape without anyone noticing her. She would go back to India, to her father's people. She would find space among them and perhaps even a new husband. Although since she was infertile the prospects of a new husband was small. Not too many suitors would be willing to risk a bride price on old woman who could not provide a son. Maybe she would just stay in England and live with her sister and her family. Tears threatened to overwhelm her. A strong hand on her shoulder stopped her from leaving. She turned; it was Mrs. Potter, Buffy.

"Where do you think you are going? Aren't you still employed by my husband?" She asked her.

"I was going to tender my resignation in the morning." Padma explained.

"Why? Did you mess up something that I don't know about?"

"No, I just thought that with your return, my presence is superfluous." Padma replied.

Buffy frowned, "Did someone tell you to say that? Did my over brainy daughter or sister tell you that, because I haven't dismissed you and I wasn't planning on dismissing you. I still need someone to watch over my two young daughters. Part of the deal in coming back was I had to take a less hands role to slaying. This means more paperwork and more office time for me."

"But I let them get kidnapped." Padma protested.

"Pfft, they're my children, they are always being kidnapped, comes with the territory. What matters is what you did when they were kidnapped, you didn't leave them."

"It's not like I could. They latched on to me as soon as they felt the pull of the portkey."

"Right, because they're big strong kids with muscles made of iron. No one could have shrugged them away."

Padma frowned, "They're just little girls."

"Exactly my point, they are just little girls and you are a grown up woman. If you didn't care for my girls you could have easily shrugged them off and left them to their own devices. You didn't do that. You grabbed on to the pair and went with them to the bad guy's lair." Buffy explained rather pointedly. She was having none of Padma pity party. "As far as I am concerned, you are part of this family now and I never give up on family." Buffy hugged the Indian woman, who was surprised by the outburst of affection from this woman she barely knew.

Emily and Eleanor were watching the interaction between their mother and their nanny warily. "Do you think that Mum is giving her the sack?" Emily asked Eleanor.

"Why would she do that? We love Nanny Padma." Eleanor replied.

"Because Mummy is back now and maybe she doesn't need Nanny Padma anymore." Emily said.

"But we still need Nanny Padma and Nanny Padma still needs us."Eleanor stated firmly, her logic rooted in her seven-year old mind.

"Yes, but does Mummy know that?" Emily asked her sister.

Doubt started to cross Eleanor mind, the possibility of Nanny Padma not coming back with them, never entered her mind. Panic set in and now tears began to form as well as an idea. "Let's go tell Mummy how much we need Nanny Padma and she'll have to keep her on." This was how two small and tearful little girls ran up to Padma and Buffy while they were hugging and joined in all the while babbling and crying to the effect that Mummy had to keep Nanny Padma.

Buffy separated from the hug, laughing at her daughters' antics. "See Padma, even the girls know that you are family. If I were to let you go, they would never forgive me. Besides what would you do with all that holiday wear that you bought? And Harry can't get a refund on the plane ticket that he bought for you to accompany us to America. So you see you're stuck with us."

Padma was overwhelmed by the generosity of her new benefactor. "But how can I repay you for your generosity?"

Buffy gave her a confused look. "Repay us? I thought you were working for us; therefore I should be paying you. Unless, of course, they changed the way they do thing since my untimely disappearance…" Her voice trailed off as she remembered being so lost in that other dimension, luckily Harry was nearby and noticed her stumble from happy-go-lucky to melancholy. He quickly came behind her and wrapped her in an embrace.

"What my wife was trying to say is that you are still in my employ and as such there will be no talking of repayment of any kind. Unless you quit than you can repay the one Knut that you owe for early termination of employment."

Emily and Eleanor were now satisfied, Mummy was back home, Daddy was with Mummy and Nanny Padma was staying with them forever.

Robbie and Sarah were eyeing their parents warily. They were old enough to remember the last time Mum disappeared for a long period of time and although they both adored their youngest siblings, they didn't wish to share with anymore. Also they remembered their mother's rough spell right after the twins were born and had no desire to repeat that experience again. But even if it meant that they would have a new sibling, they were glad that their mother was alive and was coming home.

Author's note: Thank you to everyone who has followed this story from its beginning and to those who have recommended my story.


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